On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) Manipur violence investigation’s criminal cases should be sent to Gauhati, Assam, for trial.
There have been victims in Manipur’s hills and valleys, according to a bench that included Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The bench said that “we can’t go into who suffered more, there are victims in both communities.”
The bench announced that rather than having to travel physically to the court in Gauhati, victims and witnesses will be able to testify electronically from the comfort of their homes in Manipur.
It passed a slew of directions on the trials in the cases bearing in mind the overall environment in Manipur and a need to ensure a fair process of criminal justice administration.
It directed that the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court nominate one or more officers above the rank of Judicial Magistrate First Class and sessions judge to deal with such trial cases.
“All applications for the production of the accused, remand, judicial custody, extension of custody, and other proceedings are allowed to be conducted online mode, bearing in mind both distance and security issues at the courts that will be designated to conduct the trial,” the bench further directed.
It said that judicial custody shall be permitted in Manipur.
“The statement of witnesses under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is permitted to be recorded in the presence of a local magistrate in Manipur. The Acting Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court shall designate one or more Magistrates for this,” the top court directed.
It further ordered that test identification parades be conducted through video conferencing in the presence of a Manipur-based Magistrate.
Applications for search and arrest warrants will be issued by the investigating officer through the online mode, it added.
Further, the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court shall nominate judges who are conversant with one or more languages spoken in Manipur to deal with the criminal trial.
It also took into note an assurance given by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that proper internet facilities shall be provided in Manipur to allow such video conferences.
“The above directions shall not preclude those who wish to appear physically in Gauhati,” the bench added.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the Kuki community, opposed the transfer of CBI cases to Assam and suggested that instead these cases should be shifted to Mizoram or hills in Manipur.
As Gonsalves said trials should happen in the hills, the CJI said, “There have been victims in valleys and in hills. It would be difficult for people who suffered in valleys to travel to hills, and the other way round. We are not on who suffered more.”
The top court is seized of the cases relating to the violence in Manipur between Meitei and Kuki communities.
The violence in Manipur between the Meitei and Kuki communities erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3.
Violence has gripped the entire state for over four months now and the Central government had to deploy paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control.