Manipur violence case, live updates | SC constitutes committee of 3 former women judges to oversee humanitarian measures

The hearing has concluded for the day.

CJI Chandrachud says that it will be premature to shift the trial since the stage of investigation is still on. He says that the court will seek status reports from the committee headed by Justice Mittal and former IPS officer Dattatray Padsalgikar.

The Court also orders the SG to ensure that adequate security arrangements are provided to the committee headed by Justice Mittal.

The CJI says that the three-member committee of former High Court judges will include – Justice Gita Mittal (former Chief Justice of J&K High Court ), Justice Shalini Joshi (former Bombay High Court judge) and Justice Asha Menon (former Delhi High Court judge).

CJI Chandrachud says that the court has identified a former police officer who will head another layer of supervision and will report back to the court. Mr. Dattatray Padsalgikar. to head such a committee.

CJI says that there will be 42 SITs looking at cases that have not been transferred to the CBI and that these SITs will be supervised by DIG-ranked officers from outside Manipur. Each officer will monitor 6 SITs to see that investigation is going correctly, he adds.

With respect to the investigation, CJI Chandrachud says that the court will not ‘supplant the CBI’. However in order to restore faith, the CJI says that the court will order 5 officers of at least the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) who will be brought into the CBI team from various states.

‘These officers will also be functioning within the four corners of infrastructure and administrative structure of CBI’, he adds.

CJI DY Chandrachud says that the court will do everything in its power to restore a sense of confidence in the rule of law.

He says that the court will appoint a committee comprising 3 former High Court judges who will look into humanitarian measures apart from investigation such as relief, remedial measures, compensation, rehabilitation, relief camps, etc.

CJI Chandrachud says that the bench will dictate a detailed order in the evening.

A counsel hailing from Manipur submits that national highways have been blocked and that people are suffering tremendously. He says that citizens sitting in air-conditioned rooms in Delhi don’t know the reality of the situation. He requests the court to send someone there to observe the ground realities.

Senior advocate Sanjay Hegde points out that there are two specific ‘choke points’ where there are blockades – NH2 and Jiribam. He says that through the neutral agency of the Union if these blockades are removed then a lot of tension will recede.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan apprises the court that there is a serious concern about the looting of ammunition from the state administration and that there are allegations that such looting is being deliberately allowed to happen. He says that this issue must be probed.

In response, SG Mehta says that it is already being investigated.

Pasha submits further that law officers from other states must be made Public Prosecutors in these cases. He also says that due to the ongoing law and order situation, relatives do not have the courage to go to Imphal now to claim the dead bodies and that instead the dead bodies should be transferred to another hill district.

Objecting to the constitution of the SITs, advocate Nizam Pasha submits that they have been constituted by the State even though most of the allegations are against the State police officers – ranging from active participation to perpetration. He says that the SITs must be constituted by the court instead.

Regarding the issue of unclaimed dead bodies and handing over dead bodies to the concerned relatives, the AG submits that an artificial situation is created to give the perception that the government is unwilling to hand over the dead bodies.

The court is informed that there are a number of nodal officers who can be contacted to claim the dead bodies.

Most of the unclaimed bodies in Manipur are of infiltrators: government tells Supreme Court

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for both the Union and Manipur governments, on August 1 told the Supreme Court that “most of the unclaimed bodies are of infiltrators”. His remark came towards the end of a half-day-long hearing on the violence in Manipur, before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud.

Jaising also apprises the bench that Section 166A of the IPC must be invoked which penalises public servants for dereliction of duty. She also submits that the court has the power to admit videos as evidence.

Jaising further recommends that the SITs constituted must include female officers with an unblemished record and that the investigation must be court-monitored through the submission of regular status reports. She points out that the survivors have the right to know the status of their cases and whether FIRs have been lodged or not. T

Senior advocate Indira Jaising suggests that a high-powered commission comprising retired female judges should supervise the probe and should act as the ‘eyes and ears of the court’. She says that the commission should evolve its own procedure to hear survivors in a gender-neutral manner.

Advocate Vrinda Grover objects to the manner in which the investigation is being carried out. She points out to the court that no FIR has been registered under Section 166A of the IPC which makes public servants accountable for not taking timely action under law.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta submits that the CBI team that is investigating the cases includes two female senior police officers. He also says that the CBI team has been constituted with officers hailing from different parts of the country in a bid to strike ‘a balance’.

The AG submits that the ground situation is sensitive and that an externally directed investigation will not inspire confidence.

AG apprises the court that murder cases will be supervised by Superintendents of Police (SPs) and for probing into sexual offences, teams comprising female investigative officers have been constituted. He further informs the bench that the SITs will be supervised by the Director General of Police (DGP).

Attorney General (AG) R. Venkataramani reads from the report submitted before the court as per the court’s earlier directions regarding the disaggregation of offences registered in the FIRs.

A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y Chandrachud has resumed hearing a batch of petitions pertaining to the ethnic violence that broke out in the State of Manipur at the beginning of May.

The Manipur government’s status report on 6,523 FIRs points to an “absolute breakdown of the constitutional machinery” in the State since ethnic violence broke out at the beginning of May, the Supreme Court said on August 1.

“This shows that from the beginning of May till the end of July, there was an absolute breakdown of constitutional machinery. There was no law in the State… a complete breakdown of law and order. If law and order cannot protect citizens, where are we left?” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench, asked the Manipur government, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta. Read more here.