Supreme Court Slams Absolute Breakdown Of Constitutional Machinery In Manipur

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday launched a blistering tirade at the government over the ethnic violence in Manipur, saying that there has been a complete breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state for the past two months.

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, who is heading the bench hearing the case related to excesses committed in Manipur, mainly the naked parade and gang-rape of two Kuki women, as brought to light in a viral video. The CJI termed the investigation as "tardy" and "lethargic", while pointing out the delay in registering of FIRs and statements being recorded.

To explain the delay in such cases, the court has also demanded that the Manipur Director General of Police be personally present in the court during the next hearing on Monday.

The no-holds barred comments of the Supreme Court are likely to provide further ammunition to the Opposition, which has stuck to the demand for the removal of Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and the imposition of President's Rule in the state.

In the hearing this afternoon, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court about the 6,523 FIRs, which have been registered in relation to the violence, and said 11 of these pertain to crimes against women and children. He added that the data formed part of a status report that he is submitting to the court.

Mr Mehta also informed the bench that seven people, who included a juvenile, have been arrested in the case related to the shocking video of the two women who were paraded naked and allegedly gang-raped.

CJI Chandrachud then asked whether the policemen, who have been accused of handing over the women to the mob, have been interrogated, to which Mr Mehta replied that it may not be possible to get the information overnight.

The CJI then asked about the details regarding another incident in which two women were reported to have been gang-raped and murdered.

Starting out in his answer with a contention that they had rifled through over 6,000 FIRs in one night and there may be some errors in the data, Mr Mehta informed the bench that a Zero FIR was registered on May 15 and in turn it was converted into a regular FIR on June 16.

When the Solicitor General was asked by the CJI whether any arrests had been made, he replied he did not have information on that.

Persuing the report submitted by Mr Mehta, the CJI pointed out that an FIR was registered on the date of July 26 for an incident that happened on May 4.

He stated that except in one or two cases, there are no arrests in other cases, adding that the investigation has been lethargic. He slammed the delay in filing FIRs, no arrests being made.

"The state police is incapable of investigation. They have lost control. There is absolutely no law and order... There has been an absolute breakdown of constitutional machinery in Manipur for the past two months," a visibly angry CJI said.

The Solicitor General, while informing the court that 252 people had been arrested so far in connection with the 6,523 FIRs, assured of no further lethargy on the part of the government and said that the centre was open to transferring all 11 FIRs to the CBI.

The CJI said pointed out that there are about 6,500 cases and he wanted to see the serious cases. “You can't transfer everything to the CBI. We have to put a mechanism in place," he countered.

Noting that 150 people died in Manipur since the violence broke out on May 3, Justice Chandrachud said that the material submitted before the court was not adequate.

He also asked the State to do a break- up of FIRs- as to how many FIRs concern murder, rape, arson, looting, outraging modesty, destruction of places of religious worship and grievous hurt.

The court then proceeded to order the Director General of Police to be present during the next hearing on Monday and asked him to have ready information on each of the FIRs, like date of occurrence of incident, date of registration of Zero FIR, date of registration of regular FIR, date on which witness statements were recorded, date on which statements under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) were recorded, and date on which arrests were made.

Justice Chandrachud also said the court may think of constituting a committee of former high court judges.

The Manipur issue has caused a logjam in Parliament, with both Houses being repeatedly adjourned since the monsoon session began on July 20.

Also Read: Escalating Ethnic Clashes in Manipur: Homes Torched, Lives Lost, and Urgent Pleas for Peace

Also Watch: