The Supreme Court on Monday asked the government why the full audio clip allegedly linking former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh to the ethnic violence in the state was not sent to the National Forensic Science University laboratory for examination, The Hindu reported.
The court said it was a “little disturbed” by the affidavit filed by the petitioners, the Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust, on November 20 that stated that only select clips had been sent for forensic examination, PTI reported.
In the recordings believed to be from 2023, a voice purported to be that of Singh is heard taking credit for “how and why the conflict started”, bragging that he had defied Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s order against the use of “bombs” in the conflict and shielding individuals who snatched thousands of weapons from the state police armouries from arrest.
At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since the ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024.
President’s Rule was imposed in February after Singh resigned as the chief minister.
The Kuki group had submitted to the court in November that the Manipur Police had forwarded only short and edited clips to the laboratory in Gujarat instead of the complete 48-minute recording.
The Kuki organisation made the allegation in an affidavit responding to a report submitted by the laboratory in October, which claimed that the clips had been tampered with and were not scientifically fit to compare the voice.
The laboratory had told the court that it could not provide an opinion on whether the voice in the clips is that of Singh.
The court has been hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust, which has demanded an independent investigation into the audio clips purportedly featuring Singh’s voice.
On Monday, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati asked for time to respond to the affidavit.
The court will hear the matter next on January 7.
In February, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, told the court that the tapes had been examined by the independent forensic laboratory Truth Labs. The laboratory had confirmed with 93% certainty that the voice heard in the recordings was that of the chief minister, he had said.
In August, the Supreme Court directed that the audio clips be sent for a fresh forensic examination to the National Forensic Science University laboratory in Gandhinagar to verify their authenticity.
The court had said at the time that a fresh examination would help clarify two aspects: whether the audio clips were modified, edited or tampered with in any manner and whether the voice in the disputed clips matched the admitted audio sample, with a clear finding on whether the same person is speaking in all the recordings.
The laboratory had been asked to submit its report directly to the court in a sealed cover.
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