'Manipur Violence Not Isolated, But Systemic; Why Police Took 14 Days To Register FIR?' : Supreme Court Seeks Answers From Union, State [Full Courtroom Exchange]

The Supreme Court on Monday put several questions to the Union Government and the State Government on the ethnic violence in Manipur, which has been going on, in the words of the Court "unabated", since May 4.The Manipur police also came under the severe questioning of the Court. "The incident was of May 4 and the zero FIR was registered only on May 18. Why did the police take 14 days to register the FIR?What was the police doing from the 4th of May till 18th of May?", asked the bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud.The bench said that the horrific incident of two women being paraded naked by a mob before being subjected to sexual violence, the video of which went viral in social media two weeks ago, was not an isolated incident and surmised that there would be several such instances."What stood in the way of police registering the FIR immediately on the 4th of May?", CJI asked Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who was representing the State Govt. SG replied that 18th May was the date when the incident was brought to notice. He added that within 24 hours of the video surfacing, seven arrests were made. CJI also asked how many FIRs have been registered in total. SG said that about twenty FIRs have been registered in the particular station and over 6000 FIRs in the State."Was the local police unaware that such a incident took place? And why was the FIR transferred to the Magistrate on the 20th June? After one month", CJI continued to ask. "One more thing. You also said there are about 6000 FIRs. What is the bifurcation? How many involve offences against women? How many involve other serious offences like murder, arson, burning down houses? What is the bifurcation between offences against body, offences against properties, offences against places of worship?", the CJI sought to know."Is this the only standalone incident of violence against women during this event? How many such FIRs are there?", CJI further asked. The bench also asked if the CBI will be in a position to take over investigation in all cases.Systemic violence in ManipurSG told the bench that he does not have specific instructions regarding the number of FIRs and the bifurcation. CJI expressed surprise that the State does not have the facts in its possession."These are all facts which are there in the media. I am surprised that the State of Manipur are not in possession of facts".CJI Chandrachud said that the viral video incident cannot be seen as a standalone offence and commented that it was part of a systemic violence,"There are statements by the victims that they were handed over to the mob by police. This is not a situation like 'Nirbhaya'. That was also horrific but it was isolated. This is not an isolated instance. Here we are dealing with systemic violence which IPC recognises as a special offence. In such case, is it not important that you should have a specialised team?There is a need in the State of Manipur to have a healing touch. Because the violence is continuing unabated", CJI said.CJI also expressed concerns about the state of victims in relief camps and highlighted the need to have a humane mechanism to record their statements. He pointed out three months have elapsed since the violence broke out and key evidence must have got destroyed in this period."We need to know bifurcation of 6000 FIRs, how many zero FIRs, how many forwarded to jurisdictional magistrate, action taken, how many in judicial custody, how many involving sexual violence, position of legal aid, how many 164 statements recorded so far", CJI said.Need to rebuild livesThe bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, emphasised on the need to rebuild confidence in the people and help them to return to normal lives. The bench was told that several victims have fled their native places and are stranded in relief camps."Our idea is ultimately that we restore the faith of the community - in constitutional process. That's the message we need to send", CJI said. The bench contemplated the constitution of a committee to interact with the victims and get their statements recorded for the initiation of criminal proceedings. It also sought to know from the Government the extent of legal aid provided to the victims and the measures undertaken for rehabilitation.The bench asked Attorney General for India R Venkataramani and Solicitor General to get instructions from the authorities on the queries raised by the Court. The matter will be heard again tomorrow.Women in the sexual violence video express no-confidence with the CBIA significant development in the case was the two women survivors of the horrific sexual crime in Manipur, a video of which became viral in social media two weeks ago, approaching the Supreme Court. Their counsel Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal categorically told the bench that they are opposed to the Centre's proposal to hand over the investigation to the CBI and transfer the trial to Assam."They (Union govt) have...

'Manipur Violence Not Isolated, But Systemic; Why Police Took 14 Days To Register FIR?' : Supreme Court Seeks Answers From Union, State [Full Courtroom Exchange]

Padmakshi Sharma

Tags