India, May 28 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to investigate a series of alleged extrajudicial killings in the northeastern state, saying the use of excessive or illegal force cannot be justified. It overturned a January 2022 AHRC decision to close a case on the alleged extrajudicial killings, citing a pending plea on the issue in the Gauhati high court.

A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotishwar Singh directed the commission to reconsider the matter and conduct the probe, including into allegations of injuries in extrajudicial police action, popularly known as encounters. It asked the AHRC to approach the matter with sensitivity and the Assam government to cooperate fully and remov...