Supreme Court Proposes Special Courts For Day-To-Day Manipur Violence Trials

The Supreme Court on Friday proposed to set up special courts in Manipur to conduct day-to-day trials of criminal cases dating to the 2023 ethnic violence. It also directed the investigating agencies to ensure that the victims receive the chargesheets registered for their cases and tasked them with expediting the pending cases.

The bench, comprising of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymala Bagchi and V Mohan, noted that several victims of the violence are yet to receive the chargesheets by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the state Special Investigation Team (SIT).

What Did The Supreme Court Say?

The SC bench was hearing pleas when it permitted legal aid counsel representing the victims to approach the Chief Justices of the Gauhati and Manipur High Courts to get the required documents. It further tasked the probe bodies- SIT and CBI to provide the copies to the victims within a week’s time.

As per Hindustan Times, the bench also asked Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who is appearing for the state government, SIT and the CBI, to keep an eye on the status of investigations, and provide details where the probe is finished or if chargesheets are filed. The bench also said it will help in coming up with the number of special courts that would handle trials efficiently.

"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,” the Bar and Bench quoted CJI Kant as saying.

“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," he added.

The court also directed the Manipur High Court to look into cases of 30 people who have been reported missing since the violence took place, Money Control reported. It directed former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, who heads the court-appointed monitoring committee, State SIT and CBI to file new status reports on the same.

More than 260 people have been killed and 60,000 have been displaced in ethnic strife between Meiteis and Kuki-Zo groups. Security forces have been conducting search operations and area domination in the fringe and vulnerable localities across Manipur since ethnic violence broke out three years ago.