The Supreme Court on Monday said that the recent encounters in Uttar Pradesh are required to be taken into consideration, further agreeing to look into the details of the encounters, setting a date of further hearing on the matter on 12 February.
"The Supreme Court issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh government on a PIL seeking a court-monitored CBI or SIT probe into recent encounter killings in the state," news agency ANI reported on Monday.
While setting the date for the hearing, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said that it is a very serious matter and requires detailed hearing.
According to The Indian Express, the UP government has already told the Supreme Court that the encounters have been conducted in accordance with the norms.
The Indian Express also reported last year that since March 2017, when the current government took charge, there have been 2,351 shootouts and 63 encounter deaths, spread across 24 districts, until 4 August 2018.
This has been claimed by the government as evidence of its resolve to clean up the state.
The government has cited this as evidence of its resolve to rid the state of crime and criminals. CM Yogi Adityanath had, in 2018 said that the encounters will continue, stating that sympathy for criminals is dangerous for a democracy.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and ANI.)
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