Manipur violence: Supreme Court proposes special courts; asks CBI, SITs to hasten probe

The Supreme Court on Friday revealed that it plans to constitute special courts for day-to-day trial of cases connected to the ethnic violence in Manipur and directed investigating agencies to expedite pending investigations.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the Manipur government to extend full cooperation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Special Investigation Teams (SITs) which are allegedly facing various difficulties in completing the probes.

"We tentatively propose to constitute special courts, probably in consultation with the State of Manipur and the High Courts of Manipur and Gauhati, so that the trials can be taken up on a day-to-day basis, especially in light of the inordinate delay that has already taken place in the ongoing investigations. This will be possible only when the CBI as well as the SITs are able to conclude the investigations and file their respective charge sheets. We, therefore, lay emphasis on both the agencies to do their best, despite the impediments, and complete the investigations," CJI Kant said.

The violence in Manipur stemmed from the opposition of certain tribes to the demand of Scheduled Tribes status for the majority Meitei community.

On April 19, 2023, the Manipur High Court had ordered the Manipur government to “consider inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period of four weeks” from the date of the order.

This directive sparked violent ethnic clashes within the State between the Meitei and Kuki–Zo communities.

After a video of two women being paraded naked amid the violence went viral, the Supreme Court eventually took suo motu cognisance of the issue. It has, since then, issued various directions to help curb such clashes and for the benefit of victims of such violence. In 2024, the Manipur High Court recalled its controversial April 2023 directive.

Today, the Court noted that the SITs in Manipur are investigating 3,020 cases across 8 districts, but charge sheets have been filed only in 301 cases. It added that charges have been framed in 41 cases and trial has commenced in 10 cases.

"In all these cases, there are 2,924 witnesses cited to be examined," it added.

Meanwhile, the CBI said that charge sheets have been filed in 21 cases out of 31 transferred to it, while supplementary investigation is continuing in 11 cases. It was also submitted that closure reports have been filed in 6 cases, of which 3 have been accepted. 4 cases are still under investigation.

The CBI further highlighted the challenges it is facing to conclude the probes, owing to the volatile law and order situation. It said that the examination of witnesses has become difficult, as most of them have been displaced.

"Witnesses are refusing to cooperate due to mistrust. There are language barriers on account of the existence of numerous regional dialects, which has posed a significant impediment to effective communication with local residents and witnesses," the central agency said.

While the prolonged suspension of internet services has hindered the collection of digital evidence, restrictions on free movement have also hampered the conduct of field investigations, the Court was told.

The Court acknowledged the issues faced by the agencies but emphasised that the ongoing investigations must be take to their logical conclusion and be completed within a reasonable time.

It directed the State Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police to provide full cooperation to the investigating agencies and examine what facilities or assistance can be provided to them to overcome their challenges.

While calling for a fresh status report on the investigations, the Court also asked the authorities to collate the details of all FIRs where investigation is pending or charge sheets have been filed.

"This would give an estimated idea as to how many trials would be required to be conducted. This information is imminently required for the purpose of determining the strength of the special courts which we propose to constitute," the Court said.

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