Man accused of parading Kuki women naked flags slow trial, asks Supreme Court to grant bail

Yumlembam Jiban Singh - one the men accused in a case registered after three Kuki-Zo women were paraded naked amid the Manipur violence of 2023 - today urged the Supreme Court to consider granting him bail considering the slow progress of the trial.

Singh was represented by Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat who flagged the slow progress of the trial despite repeated directions to expedite the proceedings.

He also referred to the Supreme Court's October 5 order directing that the evidence of all three victims be completed.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was informed that only one of the three victims had been fully examined so far.

Farasat submitted that the examination-in-chief of the third victim had been completed, but her cross-examination was yet to take place.

"What is happening is, despite two or three orders from July, my Lords have been directing, one and a half witnesses have been examined till date. That's the reality of the situation on the ground," he said.

Additional Solicitor General Raha Thakre, appearing for the prosecution, submitted that the trial court had fixed consecutive dates of October 13, 16, 18 and 19 for recording evidence.

He said that the examination-in-chief of the third victim was over and that the remaining cross-examination would be taken up on the scheduled dates.

Farasat, however, pointed out that earlier scheduled hearings had also failed to make progress due to various difficulties, including the interpreter contracting dengue.

"The trial is not proceeding. That's the challenge," he said.

Advocate DP Singh, also appearing for the prosecution, responded that continuous dates had been given this time to ensure that the examination of witnesses was completed.

CJI Kant subsequently recorded the submission that only one of the victims had been fully examined, while the cross-examination of another victim was still underway.

The Court then directed the prosecution to produce the third victim before the trial court during the scheduled dates to enable the recording of her evidence.

Singh's bail plea was directed to be listed thereafter.

The case relates to an incident on May 4, 2023, during the ethnic violence in Manipur, when a mob allegedly stripped and paraded three women from the Kuki-Zo community naked in Thoubal district. Two of the women were allegedly gang-raped. The father and brother of one of the victims were also allegedly killed during the incident.

The incident came to national attention in July 2023 after a video showing two of the women being paraded naked surfaced on social media, triggering widespread outrage.

The Supreme Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the incident and transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The trial was subsequently shifted to Guwahati.

Singh is accused of recording the video showing the women being paraded naked and sharing it with other accused persons, leading to its circulation. He was arrested on July 20, 2023.

A special CBI court in Guwahati framed charges against six accused, including Singh, in January 2026. The charges include murder, rape, gang rape and offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Supreme Court had earlier directed the prosecution to ensure the examination of all three victims without further delay.

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