Supreme Court decides to wait for CFSL report on veracity of alleged audio on Manipur CM meeting

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court of India on Monday (February 3, 2025) decided to wait for a report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) on the veracity of alleged audio recordings “establishing complicity” between Chief Minister N. Biren Singh-led Manipur Government and the ethnic violence in the northeastern State which led to the loss of many lives.

A Bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Sanjay Kumar was informed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that it has sent whatever content handed over to it by the petitioner, Kuki Organisation for Human Trust, to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL).

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Mr. Mehta said the government has also requested individuals who have uploaded material on social media platform Twitter (now ‘X’) to share the originals. “Please examine all this,” Chief Justice Khanna said.

Chief Justice Khanna reminded the petitioner, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, that the “State was slowly limping back to normalcy.” The CJI said the court would look into whether the case ought to be referred to the Manipur High Court. The court listed the case after six weeks.

Justice Kumar, at the beginning of the court hearing, said Chief Minister Singh had hosted a dinner for him when he was elevated to the Supreme Court. Justice Kumar was the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court till his appointment to the apex court. The judge said he was ready to recuse from the case if the parties wanted him. “There is no issue whatsoever… Not one bit,” Mr. Bhushan responded.

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During the hearing, Mr. Mehta submitted the court must be mindful that the petitioner may have “some ideological baggage… separatist, etc.” “Reports submitted by the Supreme Court-appointed committee have said the civil society organisations wanted to keep the pot boiling,” the law officer said.

The petition has asked the apex court to order a court-monitored investigation by the Special Investigation Team into leaked audio clips.

The NGO, also represented by advocate Cheryl D’Souza, alleged the “Chief Minister of Manipur was instrumental in inciting, organising and thereafter centrally orchestrating the large-scale murder, destruction and other form of violence against the Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur”.

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“In 2023, violence broke out in Manipur owing to the clash between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis. Thereafter, in August 2024, an audio of approximately 48 minutes allegedly recorded in a closed-door meeting with the Chief Minister was published in various newspapers. The recorded conversation prima facie shows the complicity and the involvement of the State machinery in violence against Kuki-Zo community,” the petition has claimed.

Published – February 03, 2025 02:53 pm IST

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