Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 25: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that the trial of the cases connected with the current Manipur violence including the crimes committed against women and being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would be held outside the state in neighbouring Assam.
It directed the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court to nominate one or more judicial officers to deal with the matters and said the trial court judges would also hear the pre-trial proceedings in the Manipur violence-related cases.
The top court said the step was being taken considering “the overall environment in Manipur and the fairness of criminal justice process.”
Passing a slew of directions, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said judicial procedures related to production of accused, remand, judicial custody and its extension would be conducted online at a designated court in Gauhati considering the security and distances involved.
Judicial custody of the accused, if and when granted, would be done in Manipur to obviate transit, it said. It said the acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court would nominate local magistrates to record witness statements. Witnesses living outside Manipur can record the statement from the places where they reside. Those who want to come in person to Gauhati to testify, are free to do so, the apex court said.
The bench also permitted persons, including victims, witnesses and others related to CBI cases, to appear physically before the designated Gauhati court if they don’t want to appear online. It directed the Manipur government to provide proper internet services to facilitate hearing in CBI cases through online mode at the Gauhati court.
On August 21, the top court had appointed Justice Gita Mittal committee to oversee the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur. Over 10 cases, including the one related to the sexual assault of two women whose video of being paraded naked had gone viral on social media and aroused national outrage, were transferred to the CBI.
Noting that many Manipur residents may have lost their identity documents in the ethnic strife, the Supreme Court-appointed panel has urged the top court to pass a slew of directions to the state government and others, including the UIDAI, to ensure Aadhaar cards are made available to those displaced and the victims’ compensation scheme was broadened.
The panel had submitted three reports highlighting the need for the reconstruction of identity documents, the upgradation of compensation and the appointment of domain experts to facilitate its functioning. More than 160 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence first broke out in Manipur on May 3 when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
