We are talking about human rights here, not a small issue, SC in Manipur Encounters

The Supreme Court today asked the Director of the CBI why no arrests have been made till date in the Manipur encounters case even after severe charges like Murder were pressed..The Bench of Justice Madan Lokur and Justice UU Lalit had, on Friday, sought the personal presence of the Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, Alok Kumar Verma to discuss the snail-paced investigation in the case..Today, the Court, in addition to seeking the CBI Director’s suggestions for speeding up the investigation, also asked why there were no arrests or custodial interrogations..“Investigation is very very slow… nothing seems to be happening even after commitments are made. We’re talking about Human Rights here, not talking about a small issue”, Justice Lokur said while quizzing the CBI Director about the pace at which the investigation has proceeded..The Court was apprised of the status of the investigation with Verma submitting that two charge sheets were filed on Monday morning, while two more would be filed by the end of this week. A total of seven charge sheets will be filed by August 31, Verma assured the Court..Irked by the fact that one year after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted, the CBI has filed only two charge sheets, Justice Lokur pointed out that it was the CBI’s approach that was responsible for the slow progress..“When the FIRs were filed initially, they were filed against the victims, people who had died, saying that they had committed an offence. It is unbelievable but it has happened. 41 FIRs against dead victims… so keep that as your reference point” Justice Lokur said to Verma..It was brought to the Court’s notice by Senior Counsel Colin Gonsalves, representing the petitioners, that no arrests have been made in the case till date. The Bench proceeded to ask Verma the reason behind it. The Court was told that no arrests were made “primarily because CBI had nothing to arrest them for; there were no recoveries.”.Justice UU Lalit asked Verma the basis on which the CBI concluded that no arrests were required..“Without any interrogations, how can you conclude that no arrests are required? Arrest is essential for interrogation. In a heinous crime such as murder, the interests of the society also have to be considered.”.Weighing in on this thought, Justice Lokur added,.“You (CBI) have filed two chargesheets till now and according to your chargesheets, 14 of them are murderers and they are roaming around in Manipur. You want Manipur to be surrounded by murderers? 14 murderers are lurking around the streets of Manipur so you have to take a call whether a murder accused has to be arrested or not”.On the subject of the speed of the investigation, the Bench termed the progress “very pathetic”. Justice Lokur told Verma that in 41 cases, there was material available for the SIT to carry out its work – either in the form of material gathered by Commission of Inquiry, Judicial inquiry ordered by the High Court, reports of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) or the report of Justice Santosh Hegde. Justice Lokur added that when the basic material was available, there is no reason why the CBI’s SIT should be taking so long..The Court, therefore, proceeded to direct the CBI to cut short its procedure for seeking approvals before filing charge sheets and finish each case within two weeks as opposed to three weeks per case pitched by Verma..The Court has also directed the CBI to ensure that 12 more officers are attached with the SIT, one additional officer with each investigating officer..The Court also noted that accused who are charged under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) should normally be arrested but left the final call regarding the same to the CBI while stating that it was “expecting them to take a rational decision”.The Court will hear the case next on August 20 at 2 PM when the CBI Director Alok Kumar Verma will have to be present again.