The Supreme Court of India has mandated the Chief Secretary of Manipur to provide a comprehensive report on the 25 unnatural deaths that were reported within relief camps established for individuals affected by the 2023 Manipur violence. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, issued directives for the submission of this report, which should include post-mortem findings, identification of the causes, and the preventive steps taken to avoid such incidents in the future.
This judicial order is part of a series of petitions addressing the investigation, protection, and rehabilitation of those impacted by the ethnic clashes in Manipur. The violence erupted following the opposition from certain tribal groups against the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list, as initially directed by the Manipur High Court in April 2023. Although this directive was later retracted by the High Court in 2024, the clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities had already resulted in significant unrest.
Amid the turmoil, a disturbing video depicting two women being paraded naked went viral, prompting the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the situation. This led to the issuance of various directives aimed at mitigating the violence. During the proceedings, the Court reviewed a report by a Manipur IAS officer indicating that 608 deaths had been recorded in the relief camps, though post-mortems were conducted in only 20 cases. The Court sought explanations for this discrepancy and questioned the compensation amounts provided to the victims’ families, which ranged between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000, a stark contrast to the initially proposed compensation of ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati informed the Court that 42 Special Investigation Teams (SITs) were established across eight districts to probe cases related to the Manipur violence. According to the ASG, chargesheets were filed in 302 cases, closure reports in 1,583 cases, while 1,135 cases remain under investigation, and trials have commenced in 38 cases. The Court took these statistics on record.
Additionally, the Court was updated on the status of cases under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the CBI’s investigations, submitted his sixteenth status report dated September 8. This report noted that the CBI had filed final reports in 28 cases, including six closure reports, with four accepted thus far. Among the 978 witnesses cited in CBI cases, only six have been examined, and there are 38 accused individuals currently in custody.
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Discussion also touched upon the pace of CBI trials. Advocate Nizamuddin Pasha highlighted the limited time allocated to Manipur cases by the Special CBI Court in Guwahati, Assam, due to its handling of various other matters. He also mentioned logistical challenges in examining witnesses remotely and ensuring the security of vulnerable witnesses.
CJI Surya Kant expressed that the Court had communicated its concerns to the jurisdictional CBI court and was optimistic that the High Court would ensure adequate attention to the Manipur cases. “Let’s see for some time…if further intervention is required, we will do that,” he remarked.
The Bench acknowledged the potential need for establishing two additional special NIA courts in Assam. “Once (additional) NIA courts are created and pressure eases, we are sure that CBI courts will be able to deal with only Manipur cases,” CJI Kant added.
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Earlier, on August 10, the Court had encouraged the authorities to consider setting up two trial courts dedicated exclusively to Manipur violence cases investigated by the CBI and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
