The Supreme Court on Friday sought a status report from the Central Bureau of Investigation on the progress of the cases related to the violent clashes that took place in Manipur in 2023, Bar and Bench reported.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi proposed that the Gauhati and Manipur High Courts could monitor the conduct of trials in these cases.
At least 260 persons have been killed and more than 59,000 persons displaced since ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo-Hmar communities in May 2023. There were periodic upticks in violence in 2024 and 2025.
Amid the violence, a video showing two women being paraded naked by a mob in the Kangpokpi district was widely shared on social media on July 19, 2023.
The assault took place near the B Phainom village in the Kangpokpi village on May 4, 2023, a day after clashes first erupted between the Meitei and Kuki communities. One of the women in the video was brutally gang-raped, according to a police complaint.
The Supreme Court had subsequently taken suo moto cognisance of the violence in the state.
It has since issued several directions on curbing the clashes.
In August 2023, the court issued an order directing that trials in the violence cases be conducted in Assam, while permitting the parties to appear via video conference from Manipur.
During the proceedings on Friday, advocate Vrinda Grover argued that in one case, the family of a woman killed during the violence in the state were not informed that a chargesheet had been filed, Bar and Bench reported.
There were also instances where the accused in the matter and the CBI did not appear for trial, she added.
In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta noted that the central agency must answer the concerns, adding that nobody could oppose what Grover had said.
“The victim’s rights cannot be affected,” Bar and Bench quoted Mehta as saying. “CBI must answer on Ms Grover’s plea, whether here or in the High Court.”
The solicitor general also said that the overall situation in Manipur had returned to a state of normalcy and peace.
Kant said that the CBI can file a status report on the progress of cases. He further noted the need to ensure that free legal aid was provided to victims who could not afford lawyers.
Suggesting that the Gauhati and Manipur High Courts could be entrusted with the task of monitoring the proper conduct of the trials in the cases, the bench sought a response on this proposal.
It expressed reservations about whether a remote committee would be adequately equipped to monitor these matters.
“In view of the fact that a new Chief Justice has taken charge in Manipur High Court and .... in order to have an effective [monitoring] mechanism by coordination between Guwahati and Manipur High Courts... Let there be instructions regarding the same,” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying.
Agreeing with the court’s observation, Mehta said that the High Court may be better suited to monitor the matter. “Situation is peaceful there [in Manipur],” Bar and Bench quoted him as saying. “People are moving. Local environment can be appreciated better by HC.”
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