Guwahati, May 28 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered an investigation into alleged "fake encounter" cases in Assam.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh directed the probe. This decision follows the Court reserving its verdict on February 25 on a plea seeking an independent investigation into 171 alleged fake police encounters that occurred in Assam between May 2021 and August 2022.

The bench acknowledged the gravity of the allegations but clarified that it would not delve into the merits of each individual encounter case.

The petitioner, advocate Arif Md Yeasin Jwadder, had challenged a January 2023 order from the Gauhati High Court, which dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) he filed concerning the allege...