Guwahati: The Supreme Court on Friday transferred the trial of criminal cases booked in Manipur and are being probed by the CBI to Assam. The apex court asked the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court to nominate one or more judicial officers to deal with the matters.
The court also issued a series of directions to facilitate victims to give their statements from Manipur, through a video conference.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud passed the order after factoring in an assurance by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that proper internet facilities will be provided in Manipur to allow such a video conference.
The Supreme Court, however, clarified that its order would not prevent persons including victims, witnesses and others related to CBI cases, who wished to go to Guwahati, to appear in the court physically as part of such proceedings.
The Supreme Court also took note of concerns raised by Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves and advocate Vrinda Grover that the victims of the violence should not be made to travel to Assam for the trial. “So you want the statements to be recorded in Manipur and not in Assam or wherever the victims are ... The Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court will take care and the entire process will be done virtually... We will not ask the survivor to travel to Assam.. and we will have statements and evidence recorded in Manipur,” the Chief Justice orally assured.
In response to Senior Advocate Indira Jaising's query over why Assam has been chosen for the conduct of the trial, Solicitor General Mehta responded by saying that internet connectivity is relatively better in Assam.
“We chose it for the connectivity and the maximum connectivity is in Assam.”
The Supreme Court proceeded to pass the following directions bearing in mind the overall environment in Manipur and the need to ensure a fair process.
All applications for the production of the accused, remand, judicial custody, extension of custody, and other proceedings are allowed to be conducted on online mode, bearing in mind both distance and security issues at the courts that will be designated to conduct the trial. 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.
Test identification parades can be conducted through video conferencing in the presence of a Manipur-based magistrate.
It is significant that on August 21, the top court appointed Justice Gita Mittal committee to oversee the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur.
Over 10 cases, including the one related to the sexual assault of two women whose video had gone viral on social media, were transferred to the CBI.
Noting that many Manipur residents may have lost their identity documents in the ethnic strife, the Supreme Court-appointed panel has urged the top court to pass a slew of directions to the state government and others, including the UIDAI, to ensure Aadhaar cards are made available to those displaced and the victims' compensation scheme is broadened.
The panel had submitted three reports highlighting the need for the reconstruction of identity documents, the upgradation of compensation and the appointment of domain experts to facilitate its functioning.
