The Supreme Court on March 11 asked Attorney General of India R. Venkataramani to take instructions from the government on a report submitted by the apex court-appointed Justice Gita Mittal committee highlighting recent “worrying” happenings in Manipur, which had been rocked by violence in May 2023.
The Justice Mittal committee was formed to oversee relief activities in Manipur.
In a separate order, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud also sought status reports from the Manipur government, the CBI and the National Investigation Agency with respect to their investigations of cases connected to the violence of last year.
“We want to know how many cases are ripe for trial,” Chief Justice Chandrachud said.
The Bench said it had received a communication from the Special Judge in charge of CBI and NIA cases in Assam, who was nominated by the Gauhati High Court to conduct all proceedings in connection with the probe of the cases relating to the Manipur violence, asking whether the trial in the cases should also be conducted in Assam. On August 25 last year, the Supreme Court had ordered the court proceedings related to the investigation of some of the Manipur violence cases be shifted to neighbouring Assam.
During the hearing, senior advocate Vibha Makhija, representing the Justice Mittal committee, highlighted contents in the report about “all relief activities having stopped”, “protests becoming armed protests”, “officers held to ransom”, “Deputy Commissioner’s office burnt down along with relief materials” and sightings of “worrying public notices”.
“The problem is outfits are weaponised,” the senior advocate said. The Chief Justice said it was up to the State government to maintain law and order.
Chief Justice Chandrachud, referring to the committee report, said the panel wanted the Supreme Court to “direct all organisations to desist from acts, call, provocations leading to violence in the State”.
“These are not matters in which the Supreme Court can give directions. This is ultimately a matter for proper policing and maintenance of law and order by the government… The Supreme Court cannot control the actions of private and civil society organisations. It is for the government to do that,” Chief Justice Chandrachud addressed Ms. Makhija.
Mr. Venkataramani said incidents of violence alleged to have happened on February 15 and 27 in Manipur had been handed over to the CBI for investigation. He said he would verify once more.
