New Delhi: The Supreme Court has announced its commitment to reinstating a sense of confidence and faith in the rule of law within the violence-affected state of Manipur. During a hearing on a batch of petitions, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud revealed that the court is considering the establishment of a committee comprising three former women High Court judges.
This committee would oversee investigations and undertake humanitarian efforts such as relief, remedial measures, compensation, and rehabilitation. Former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal would head this committee, joined by retired judges Asha Menon from Kerala and Shalini P Joshi from Pune.
Alongside the proposed judicial panel’s role in overseeing relief and rehabilitation endeavours, senior police officers would be tasked with supervising criminal investigations conducted by the state Special Investigation Teams (SITs). The court indicated that a comprehensive order outlining these measures would be uploaded to its official website later in the day.
During the ongoing hearing, Manipur Director General of Police Rajiv Singh appeared before the bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud to address inquiries related to ethnic violence and the administration’s response. Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre and the state government, respectively, submitted a report addressing issues including the segregation of cases.
In light of the breakdown of law and order in Manipur, as stated by the apex court on August 1, the Centre proposed the transfer of 11 out of 6,523 FIRs linked to violence against women and children to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a comprehensive investigation.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court unveiled plans for the establishment of 42 Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe cases related to Manipur violence that have not been transferred to the CBI. Six DIG-level officers from outside Manipur would supervise the ongoing SIT investigations. The court expressed its intent to appoint a committee of three former High Court judges to delve into investigation processes, humanitarian efforts, relief, compensation, and rehabilitation measures.
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