Supreme Court Pushes for Special Manipur Violence Courts

Imphal: The Supreme Court ordered new special courts on Friday to handle day-to-day trials for the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence. The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, demanded probe agencies accelerate their work. The violence ignited on May 3, 2023, after a Tribal Solidarity March in the hill districts. Protesters rallied against the Meitei community demand for Scheduled Tribe status. More than 200 people died.

Hundreds suffered injuries. Thousands fled their homes. The court noted that victims often lack basic information on their own legal battles. It found many families have not received chargesheets filed by the CBI or the state Special Investigation Team. The court gave these agencies seven days to turn over the documents. Legal aid lawyers can now approach the Chief Justices of the Gauhati and Manipur High Courts to secure these papers.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Centre, the state, the CBI, and the SIT, must now submit a full breakdown of the probe progress. The court needs these figures to determine how many special courts to open. Officials must detail every completed investigation and every pending case. "The court said the data would assist it in assessing how many special courts would be necessary to facilitate the speedy disposal of the cases."

Authorities have more tasks. The Manipur High Court must investigate 30 people still missing since the fighting started. The CBI, the state SIT, and a monitoring committee led by former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar must also submit updated status reports.