- The Supreme Court on Friday said a “distinction” must be drawn between the right of self defence and retaliation and directed a thorough probe into the alleged fake encounter killings in insurgency-hit Manipur.
- A bench of justices–MB Lokur and UU Lalit said it was “abundantly clear” the right of self defence or private defence falls in one basket and the use of excessive force or retaliatory force falls in the another basket.
- The apex court, which was dealing with a PIL on alleged 1528 extra-judicial killings in Manipur from 2000 to 2012 by Armed Forces, referred to an earlier verdict which cautioned against use of retaliatory force even against a dreaded criminal.
- The top court said to provide assurance to the people, and the allegations of extra judicial killings be thoroughly enquired into. It said that society and court do not and cannot accept deaths caused by the State since it is destructive of the rule of law and plain unconstitutional.
(With inputs from PTI)
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