Manipur Violence: SC Seeks Progress Report Within Two Months From Probe Overseer, Panel Of Three Ex-HC Judges

The Supreme Court on Friday (11 August) emphasised the need to stop the violence in Manipur, punish the perpetrators according to the law, and, as a result, restore the community's faith and confidence in the justice system.

Former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, who will oversee the investigation into the ethnic clashes in Manipur, and the committee of three former high court judges examining the humanitarian aspects, have been instructed to provide a progress report to the court within two months.

The bench, consisting of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said that it will “issue further directions at that stage… for the shifting of the trials outside the State of Manipur, as may be required…."

On 7 August, the apex court announced its decision to appoint Padsalgikar as the head of the probe committee and Justice Gita Mittal, former chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, to lead the three-judge committee. The official order came through on Thursday (10 August).

In its order, the Supreme Court expressed its "anguish of the manner in which women have been subjected to grave acts of sexual violence in the course of the sectarian strife” and said that “subjecting women to sexual crimes and violence is completely unacceptable and constitutes a grave violation of the constitutional values of dignity, personal liberty and autonomy all of which are protected as core fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution," as reported by the Indian Express.

According to the court, “mobs commonly resort to violence against women for multiple reasons, including the fact that they may escape punishment for their crimes if they are a member of a larger group. In time of sectarian violence, mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the community that the victims or survivors hail from.

"Such visceral violence against women during conflict is nothing but an atrocity. It is the bounden duty of the state – its foremost duty, even – to prevent people from committing such reprehensible violence and to protect those whom the violence targets."

The bench said that “the victims of violence must receive remedial measures irrespective of their community” and “likewise, the perpetrators of violence must be held accountable irrespective of the source of violence."

To ensure the fairness of the investigation, the Supreme Court issued directions for Padsalgikar to supervise the investigation by the CBI into the transferred FIRs, as well as the investigation conducted by the state's investigative machinery for the remaining FIRs.

In order to ensure a proper investigation of the FIRs transferred to the CBI, the Supreme Court requested the Home Ministry to provide the CBI with five officers of at least the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police.

These officers would have to be selected from the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and NCT of Delhi, with at least one of them being a woman.

The court said that officers on deputation must carry out their duties "under the overall structure of the CBI" and provide regular updates and reports to Padsalgikar.

Additionally, the court directed Padsalgikar to investigate allegations of collusion between certain police officers and perpetrators of violence, including sexual violence, during the conflict in Manipur.

The court also instructed the Home Ministry to assign 14 officers, not below the rank of superintendents of police, to the special investigation teams (SITs) responsible for probing the FIRs being investigated by the Manipur police.

These SITs have been directed by the court to visit each relief camp within their assigned areas and establish themselves as impartial bodies that accept complaints of violence, including sexual violence.

According to the court, the SITs formed by the state should not consist solely of members from either of the communities involved in the clashes.

The ex-judges' committee, which also includes former Bombay High Court judge Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi and former Delhi High Court judge Justice Asha Menon, will additionally “enquire into the nature of violence against women… from 4 May 2023 from all available sources including personal meetings with survivors, members of the families of survivors, local/community representatives, authorities in charge of relief camps and the FIRs lodged as well as media reports."