The Supreme Court will hear on Friday a writ petition for a probe by a Special Investigation Team into the alleged role of the Indian Army in the war in Sri Lanka.

The petitioner, Ram Sankar, an advocate and human rights activist, said a probe was necessary in view of the publication of U.N. Secretary General’s expert panel report implicating Indian armed forces for their involvement with the Sri Lankan army in alleged war crimes against Tamil civilians, including persons of Indian origin.

He also cited the report of the Permanent People’s Tribunal indicting the Indian government for the involvement of its Army in the war.

The petitioner alleged that the Indian government deployed its Army in Sri Lanka without the authority and approval of the President of India and without the sanction of Parliament. He said there was no provision in the Constitution for permitting the use of the Indian Army for any purpose in a foreign soil other than for the defence of India.

Contending that the aid and abetment of the Indian Army with the Sri Lankan armed forces was unlawful, the petitioner sought a direction for constituting a SIT to probe into the role of Indian Army in the ethnic killings. (The Hindu)