The Supreme Court on Friday (24th July) proposed to constitute special courts for expediting the trial of cases connected with the Manipur violence. A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the proposition after noting that the families of the victims of the violence have not yet received the chargesheets in cases linked to the violence that erupted in 2023.
“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,” CJI Kant said.
The Apex Court also directed the Manipur government to fully cooperate with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Special Investigation Teams (SITs), which are said to be facing various difficulties in completing the probes.”…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,” the CJI added.
The Supreme Court noted the Special Investigation Teams (SITs) in Manipur have been investigating 3,020 violence-related cases across 8 districts. However, charge sheets have been filed only in 301 cases, while charges have been framed in 41 cases only, and trial has commenced in 10 cases. “In all these cases, there are 2,924 witnesses cited to be examined,” the Court noted.
The CBI informed the Court that charge sheets have been filed in 21 cases out of 31 transferred to it, while supplementary investigation is continuing in 11 cases. It also submitted that closure reports have been filed in 6 cases, of which 3 have been accepted and 4 cases are still under investigation.
The agency highlighted the challenges it has been facing in completing the investigation in the cases due to the volatile law and order situation. It apprised the Court that it has been difficult to examine the witnesses as many 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 CBI said,
The agency further submitted that prolonged suspension of internet services has hindered the collection of digital evidence and the restrictions on free movement have also hampered the conduct of field investigations.
The Court heard the challenges faced by investigating agencies but stressed that the investigation should be completed within a reasonable time. The Court called for a fresh status report on the investigations. It directed the CBI, the state SIT and the court-appointed monitoring committee headed by former Maharashtra Director General of Police Dattatray Padsalgikar 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. It also directed the Manipur High Court to examine cases relating to 30 persons who remain missing since the outbreak of the violence.
