Manipur violence: SC commences hearing, state proposes to set up district level SITs to probe cases

The Supreme Court on Monday, August 7, commenced hearing on a batch of petitions pertaining to ethnic violence in Manipur, with the state government proposing to set up SITs headed by district SPs to probe cases.

Manipur DGP Rajiv Singh also appeared before a bench headed by Chief justice D.Y. Chandrachud to answer queries on the ethnic violence and steps taken by the administration so far, besides the segregation of cases for the purposes of effective investigation.

Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the state government, submitted the report, sought by the apex court on August 1, on issues including the segregation of cases.

"The government is handling the situation at a very mature level," the attorney general told the bench which also comprised justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

They said the state government proposed to set up SITs, headed by the superintendent of police, at district level to probe sensitive cases, besides 11 cases which will be investigated by the CBI.

On August 1, the top court said there was a complete breakdown of law and order and constitutional machinery in Manipur. It had rapped the state police for a "tardy" and "lethargic" probe of incidents of ethnic violence, especially those targeting women, and had summoned the DGP to answer its queries on August 7.

The Centre had urged the bench that instead of the two FIRs related to a video showing women being paraded naked by a mob, 11 out of 6,523 FIRs linked to violence against women and children may be transferred to the CBI and tried out of Manipur.

The bench is hearing around 10 petitions relating to the violence seeking reliefs, including court-monitored probe, into cases besides measures for rehabilitation and other reliefs.