Manipur violence: Supreme Court summons State DGP; moots constitution of judicial committee

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Director General of Police (DGP) of Manipur to be personally present in Court on August 7, when the Court will next hear the slew of petitions concerning the violence that has engulfed the north-eastern State..A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra passed the order in a batch of petitions seeking independent probe into the violence in Manipur including a plea by two women from Kuki-Zomi community who were seen in a video being paraded naked and molested by a mob of men.The Court today castigated the authorities and the State police today over their apparent failure to control the law and order situation that unfolded in Manipur. "The preliminary data which has been submitted before the Court, prima facie shows that the investigation has been tardy. There has been a considerable lapse between the occurrences and the registration of the FIRs. The recording of witness statements and arrests have been few and far between. In order to enable the Court to appreciate the dimensions of the investigation that would be warranted, the Director General of Police of the State of Manipur shall remain personally present before this Court on 7 August 2023 at 2.00 pm," the Court's order stated.The Court further mooted formation of a judicial committee comprising retired judges to examine the allegations and cases."We may think of eventually based on the data, we were thinking of constituting a committee of former judges of the High Court. It will be broad based committee. First we will decide on the remit such as relief, compensation, rehabilitation, to ensure the investigation is fair, recording of section 164 statements irrespective of where the victims are. Many have left Manipur. We are inclined to form a committee," the Court remarked.It then asked the Solicitor General to take instructions on who should probe the cases. On this aspect, the Court also remarked that it had some suggestions in mind on how the investigation may be guided. "There are 6,500 FIRs .. Of course, full cannot be transferred to the CBI. CBI will be rendered dysfunctional... We have some suggestions on how to lead the probe into all these FIRs. Entrusting CBI with the investigation of 6,500 FIRs is impossible and State police cannot look into this. We will hear you and then pass our order. We have given you our mind so that there are no surprises," the Court told the Solicitor General. .There is no law and order left at all in Manipur; State police incapable of investigation: Supreme Court.The Court was informed today that 6,496 criminal cases were registered in the State over the recent violence, as on July 25, 2023. The Court also noted that as per official statistics, 150 deaths have taken place until June 9. Over 500 persons were reportedly injured, the Court was told further.The bench also made note that there were 11 first information reports (FIRs) with allegations of violence against women and children and that 7 arrests have been made so far in such cases.The Court further expressed that the material disclosed so far is inadequate, since there was no disaggregation of 6,500 FIRs by the category of offence alleged.“State must carry out the process of disaggregation and inform the Court on how many FIRs deal with murder, rape, arson and looting, destruction of house property, outraging of modesty of woman and destruction of places of religious worship and grievous hurt,” the Court ordered today..A day after a horrific video of two women being paraded naked and molested had gone viral on social media last month, the Supreme Court registered a suo motu case on the issue.The video clip had shown the two women being paraded naked by a mob of men and molested as they moved towards a paddy field.According to Mint, the incident happened on May 4 and the women were later gang raped by the mob. The incident only came to light in July, after the video went viral on the internet.The Central government later ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the issue.Subsequently, the two women also approached the apex court.When the matter was heard yesterday, the Supreme Court had contemplated the formation of a committee of retired woman judges to probe into incidents of sexual violence against women in Manipur.The Court had also sought details from the State and the Central government about the 6,000 first information reports claimed to have been registered in connection with the violence in the State.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta today apprised the Court of the FIRs filed so far in the case. “It is submitted that State government is sensitive to the delicate nature of the issue. Regular FIR from May 3 to July 30 were 6,300,” he said.He further informed that two FIRs have been registered over the incident shown in the viral video clip. He added that seven persons and one juvenile person, have been arrested in the case.The Court, however, expressed its displeasure over the delay in taking such action since the incident occurred on May 4.The Solicitor General responded by pointing out that various actions had been taken by the State authorities even before the Court took cognisance of the Manipur crisis.The Court, however, remained unimpressed, even commenting that there appeared to be complete breakdown of law and order in the State.“State police is incapable of investigation. Absolutely.. There is no law and order left at all. In 6,000 FIRs you have made 7 arrests?” Chief Justice Chandrachud asked.The Solicitor General, in turn, submitted that the situation is coming back to normal now and that there was no lethargy in the State’s efforts to resolve the crisis.The matter will be heard next on Monday. Read more here..[Read live coverage of the hearing].[Read order]