New Delhi, Nov 12 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea by the Union Government and Army officers to recuse on grounds of "apprehension of bias 'from hearing a matter related to the alleged extra judicial killings in Manipur.
Headed by Justice Madan Bhimrao Lokur and also comprising Justice Deepak Gupta, the division bench, ruled, "We don't find any merit in the plea."
The Union Government had on September 28 joined more than 700 Army officers in the court to urge the two-judge bench, presided over by Justice Lokur, to recuse from monitoring the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged encounter killings in Manipur for 'perception and apprehension of bias.'
Both Army officers and the Centre were aggrieved with the apex court's observations on July 30 that "Murderers are roaming on the streets of Imphal.'
The bench, presided over by Justice Lokur, clarified that the observations were not intended to compromise the "independent" nature of the investigation.
Attorney General K K Venugopal, had asked the bench to withdraw from hearing the matter, in view of its previous observations.
UNI XC RP1907