NEW DELHI — The Supreme Court on Monday said the trial of the Manipur ethnic
violence cases, probed by the CBI, would be conducted in Guwahati, Assam, where
they were transferred to earlier.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna
also extended till July 31, 2025, the tenure of a committee headed by Justice
Gita Mittal, the former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The panel, also comprising former Bombay High Court judge
Shalini P Joshi and Asha Menon, former Delhi High Court judge, was set up on
August 7, 2023 by the top court to oversee relief and rehabilitation of the
victims of ethnic violence in Manipur.
The tenure of the panel was previously extended by the top
court by six months on August 5, last year.
On Monday, the bench noted the submissions of a lawyer over
the fate of the trials in the cases that were transferred to Guwahati for
pre-trial proceedings by the bench on August 25, 2023.
“We clarify that the trial of transferred cases will be held
before the courts at Guwahati,” the CJI said.
Keeping in mind the “overall environment in Manipur and the
need for ensuring a fair process of criminal justice administration”, the top
court transferred to Assam, 27 cases, having various offences, including the
sexual assault case of the two women seen in a viral video being paraded naked.
While passing a slew of directions, the top court had
directed the Gauhati High Court chief justice to nominate one or more judicial
officers to deal with the transferred cases.
Of the 27 cases, 20 related to charges of molestation, rape,
murder whereas three related to loot of weapons.
On the supply of the several reports submitted by the
judges’ panel to all the litigants, the bench was in the affirmative but asked
the parties to exercise caution due to the "sensitivities involved".
Concurring with the bench, solicitor general Tushar Mehta,
representing the Manipur government, pointed out the possibility of some having
"other motives".
The bench posted the next hearing in the week of July 21.
On December 9, last year, the bench directed the Manipur
government to submit a detailed sealed-cover report on the number of properties
that were fully or partially burnt, looted, or encroached upon during the
ongoing ethnic violence in the state.
It had emphasised the need for the state to address the
grievances of the displaced persons and take steps to restore their properties.
The court also directed the Manipur government to provide
specific details such as “buildings burnt or partially burnt, buildings looted,
buildings trespassed or encroached upon”.
The report was ordered to also provide information on the
owners and current occupants of these properties, along with the details of any
legal actions taken against trespassers.
The report was directed to indicate the steps taken by the
state government to ensure trespassers were proceeded against as per the law.
"You have to take a decision on how you want to deal
with it or in terms of criminal action as well as to ask them (encroachers of
the properties) to pay ‘mesne profits’ for the use of the occupation…,” the
apex court had said.
Mesne profit is the compensation paid to a rightful owner of
a property by a person who is in unlawful possession of it.
The top court also asked the state government to respond to
the issue of release of funds for temporary and permanent housing as flagged by
the judges' panel.
In August, 2023, the top court asked former Maharashtra
police chief Dattatray Padsalgikar to monitor the probe into the criminal
cases.
Over 200 people were killed, several hundred injured and
thousands displaced since ethnic violence first broke out in the state on May
3, 2023 when a "tribal solidarity march" was organised in the hill
districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for
scheduled tribe status.
