The Supreme Court on Friday proposed the setting up of special courts to conduct day-to-day trials in criminal cases arising out of the 2023 ethnic violence in Manipur, while directing investigating agencies to expedite pending investigations and ensure victims receive copies of chargesheets.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing a batch of petitions related to the Manipur violence when it observed that several victims and their families had not yet been provided copies of chargesheets filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Manipur Special Investigation Team (SIT).
To address the issue, the court permitted legal aid counsel representing the victims to approach the offices of the Chief Justices of the Gauhati High Court and the Manipur High Court to obtain the chargesheets. It also directed the CBI and the SIT to furnish the documents within one week.
The Bench asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Manipur government, the CBI and the SIT, to submit a detailed status of all cases, including those in which investigations have been completed and chargesheets filed, as well as cases where probes are still pending.
The Supreme Court said the information would help assess the number of special courts needed for the expeditious disposal of violence-related criminal cases.
The Bench also directed the Manipur High Court to examine cases involving 30 persons reported missing since the outbreak of ethnic violence in the state.
In addition, the CBI, the Manipur SIT and the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee headed by former Maharashtra Director General of Police Dattatray Padsalgikar have been directed to submit fresh status reports on the progress of their investigations.
Manipur has witnessed ethnic unrest since May 3, 2023, when clashes broke out following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised in the hill districts against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. The violence has since claimed over 200 lives, injured hundreds and displaced thousands of people.
