Shruti Suman
The Supreme Court on Monday raised serious questions to both the Union and Manipur governments regarding the ethnic violence that occurred in the state. The court also criticized the police for the delay in registering the FIR (First Information Report) for the victims seen being paraded naked on the streets of Manipur in the viral video. The court inquired why it took the police 14 days to register the FIR, considering the incident occurred on May 4, and the FIR was only registered on May 18. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, is handling multiple petitions related to the Manipur violence.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the two women seen in the video, informed the court that they have filed a petition regarding the matter. During the proceedings, the Chief Justice responded to a lawyer who brought up crimes against women in other states like Bengal, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh, stating that they were dealing with a unique and unprecedented situation in Manipur. The Chief Justice emphasized that the government cannot justify the happenings in Manipur by comparing them to crimes elsewhere.
The court called for the development of a comprehensive mechanism to address violence against women in strife-torn Manipur and inquired about the number of FIRs registered for such incidents in the state since May. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Government, stated that the Union of India had no objections if the Supreme Court supervised the investigation into the Manipur violence.
The court further questioned why the police didn’t register the FIR immediately on May 4 and why it was transferred to the Magistrate only on June 20, a month after the incident. They sought information on the number of FIRs registered, their categorization based on offenses against women and other serious crimes such as murder, arson, and property damage.
The Chief Justice expressed concern about the condition of the victims in relief camps and stressed the importance of having a humane mechanism to record their statements. He pointed out that three months had already passed since the violence erupted, and crucial evidence might have been destroyed during this time.
The Supreme Court had previously expressed deep distress over the video of two women being paraded naked and declared the use of women as instruments for perpetrating violence as unacceptable in a constitutional democracy. Subsequently, on July 27, the Centre informed the court that it had transferred the investigation of the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), reaffirming its commitment to having zero tolerance towards crimes against women.
