The Supreme Court on Monday said a three member committee comprising of former High Court judges will be established in the matter involving ethnic violence in Manipur. This committee will extend its purview beyond the confines of the ongoing investigation, focusing on aspects of humanitarian implications, Chief justice D Y Chandrachud announced.
“We will constitute a committee of three High Court judges to address matters beyond the investigation scope. They will specifically focus on humanitarian issues,” the CJI said.
The committee will be headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal and comprise of former Bombay High Court Judge Shalini Joshi and Justice Asha Menon.
42 SITs to Probe Cases
The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Chandrachud noted, “In line with our commitment to maintaining public trust, we propose to direct the secondment of five officials, each holding a rank not below Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP), from diverse states to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).”
These 42 Special Investigation Teams (SITs) will be led by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) rank officers from various states, with each overseeing six SITs, the SC bench which also comprised justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said.
Additionally, the CJI further said, “Former police officer Dattatray ‘Datta’ Padsalgikar will assume the role of monitoring the investigation.”
Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared for the Centre and the Manipur government. “The government is handling the situation at a very mature level,” the attorney general told the Supreme Court.
The Solicitor General guided the top court through the formation of SITs for probing cases, indicating that the teams would be headed by SPs and DySPs. “There will be 6 SITs for each district, with the SIT investigating cases of crimes against women to include and be led by women officers,” informed Solicitor General.
During the proceedings, Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh appeared before the bench to address inquiries concerning the ethnic violence, the measures implemented by the administration thus far to curb it and the categorisation of cases for the purpose of enhancing investigative efficacy.
What Are The Concerns?
The bench examined approximately 10 petitions concerning the violence. These petitions seek various remedies, including a court-monitored investigation into the cases, as well as measures for rehabilitation and other forms of relief.
On suggestions regarding the situation in the violence-hit northeastern state, Attorney General responded, “Peace must be unconditional… any process to weaken it must be avoided…”
Senior Advocate Indira Jaising said: “Without giving it a label, we all know the conflict is still ongoing…”
Supreme Court lawyer and rights activist Vrinda Grover noted that all FIRs are falling within Imphal jurisdiction. “The police station and district are both Imphal. Where would the investigation be? Usually, if it is Imphal, the SP would have to be from that area. They’re no longer in Imphal. Who will be the jurisdictional magistrate? These are issues to be decided… There are two women who were beaten and were believed to be dead, but then they were rushed to the ICU… the reported injuries are simple injuries,” added Grover.
Jaising expressed, “All we are asking is that police officers who are neglecting their duties shall be prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code.”
‘Very Complicated Situation’: Attorney General
Responding to the concerns, Attorney General said that while it’s easy to say things here, “it’s much tougher to handle things there.”
The Attorney General further stated, “We would like to retrieve the deceased bodies, but there are numerous interventions. It’s a very complicated situation.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta further said, “A day before the matter is to be heard, something significant occurs. The Director General of Police (DGP) is present. The DG informs me that we have nodal officers for the collection of dead bodies. If there is any difficulty, we are there to help.”
In a first reaction following the Supreme Court’s directive, Attorney General K Raghavacharyulu, who represented the Manipur government, told CNN-News18, “The Supreme Court has issued a sensible order. Normalcy will be restored soon.”
On the cross-border security issues, he added, “It’s a matter of investigation.”
Complete Breakdown in Law and Order: SC
On August 1, the Supreme Court said there was a complete breakdown in law and order as well as the constitutional framework in Manipur. It criticised the state police for their sluggish and lackadaisical investigation into incidents of ethnic violence, particularly those targeting women. As a result, it summoned the Director General of Police (DGP) to address its inquiries on August 7.
The government appealed to the bench to consider transferring 11 out of the 6,523 FIRs associated with violence against women and children to the CBI for investigation and trial outside of Manipur, rather than limiting the transfer to the two FIRs connected to a video depicting women being paraded naked by a mob.
Comments
0 comment