The Supreme Court on Friday asked Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta to nominate one or more judicial officers in Assam to take charge of the pre-trial processes in 27 cases related to the ethnic violence in Manipur, including crimes committed against women and children, which were transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud passed the order on an application filed by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the investigating agency.
Mr. Mehta indicated that judicial officers may belong to one tribal community or the other, and pre-trial hearings may cause a furore or an apprehension of bias in a State which was still restive after months of ethnic violence. Mr. Mehta said Assam was chosen in consultation with the CBI because the two States shared a common border. Easy connectivity between Assam and Manipur was also a bonus.
Petitioners, including victims represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, raised objections. They said the pre-trial processes could be carried out either in Manipur or some other nearby State. They asked why Assam, which is ruled by a BJP government just like Manipur, was considered as a choice of venue.
The Chief Justice responded that the Supreme Court was not asking the Assam government, but the Gauhati Chief Justice, to nominate the pre-trial judges.
“There have been victims in the valleys of Manipur and there have been victims in the hills of Manipur. People belonging to community A have suffered, people belonging to community B have suffered… We are not on who suffered more… We are concerned about fair trial… We are today at an anterior stage. There are some immediate things to be done like production of accused, judicial remands, extension of remands, recording the statements of victims and witnesses, etc. These things have to be done immediately…” Chief Justice Chandrachud explained.
The Chief Justice said no order was “cast in stone”.
“When the actual trial starts, we will review this order. At that stage, if we find that Manipur has returned to normalcy, we will bring the cases back to be tried in Manipur. We can do that under Article 142 of the Constitution… What we are doing now is only for the present moment,” Chief Justice Chandrachud assured the victims’ side.
Issuing a series of directions for the conduct of the pre-trial processes while taking into consideration “the overall environment in Manipur and the fairness of criminal justice process”, the Supreme Court ordered that applications for producing the accused before the judge, judicial remand, extension of custody and other proceedings in connection with the investigation would be heard online by the designated Gauhati courts, considering the security and distances involved. Even applications for arrest warrants should be made online, said the court.
However, judicial custody of accused persons would be permitted in Manipur in order to obviate transportation of detainees.
The Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court was asked to nominate local magistrates in the State to record the sworn statements of witnesses and survivors still residing in Manipur. The restatements could be recorded online, the apex court ordered.
Victims or witnesses living outside Manipur were allowed to connect online with the designated Gauhati courts and record their statements. However, those who wanted to come in person to Gauhati to testify, were free to do so, the apex court clarified.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioners, said many of the victims had fled the State.
“We are not asking the victims or survivors to travel to Assam to record their statements. All they have to do is testify from the nearest possible place. Besides, the statements can be recorded online… The Solicitor General has assured solid internet connectivity for the nominated Magistrates in Manipur,” Chief Justice Chandrachud told the petitioners.
The Bench requested the Gauhati Chief Justice to nominate, as far as possible, judicial officers conversant with the languages used in Manipur.
