SC expresses shock over 34 unnatural deaths at camps in violence-hit Manipur, flags petty compensation

The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed shock over 34 unnatural deaths at the camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in ethnic violence-hit Manipur, questioning the state’s failure to pursue investigations by registering criminal cases and conducting post-mortems.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the state chief secretary to file an affidavit on incidents in camps, especially of unnatural deaths.

A three-member court-appointed Justice (retd) Gita Mittal-led committee, overseeing relief and rehabilitation in Manipur, told the bench that it found the chief secretary’s response unsatisfactory after it sought it following a news report in June on the unnatural deaths of 25 IDPs in camps, including one after a sexual assault.

In July, a nodal officer informed the panel that 34 of the 640 deaths in relief camps were unnatural. ₹20,000 to 30,000 were paid to the kin of the 34, and post-mortems were conducted in 20 cases. Cases were registered in 25 unnatural deaths.

The bench called the information serious and shocking. It took exception to the chief secretary’s failure to provide information to the committee. The bench asked the chief secretary to explain why post-mortems were conducted only in 20 cases. It questioned the state why petty compensation was paid when over ₹5 lakh has been paid in similar cases.

The court directed the Manipur Legal Services Authority to take up the matter immediately and ensure cases are registered in all unnatural death cases. It ordered the authority to ascertain the cause of deaths and take necessary measures to ensure the safety and dignity of the victims staying in the camps.

The court directed the state to ensure IDPs are treated with dignity and provided medical facilities and day-to-day needs. It also took up a report about the status of investigations by 42 special investigation teams (SITs) probing 3,020 cases related to the Manipur violence.

Additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati, who appeared for the SITs, informed the court that 1,135 cases are still under investigation. She added that the probe has been concluded in 1,583 cases. Bhati said charge sheets were filed in only 302 cases. She added that the SITs filed closure reports in the remaining cases. Bhati said trials have commenced in 33 cases.

Bhati said charge sheets have been filed in 28 of the 31 cases the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing. She added closure reports were filed in the remaining cases. Bhati said only six of 900 CBI witnesses have been examined.

Advocate Nizam Pasha, who appeared for the victims, pointed out that the CBI trials are being conducted in a special court in Guwahati. He added that this is the only CBI court in the state handling other cases of the agency as well.

The Supreme Court sought an additional CBI court to ensure the one hearing the matters can exclusively deal with the Manipur violence matters.

It took up the matter two days after at least five houses were set ablaze after suspected Kuki militants attacked Chawangkining, a Naga village, in Manipur’s Kangpokpi late on Tuesday night, triggering a gunfight. The attack was the latest in a series of assaults in the state that have left six people dead in four days.

The ethnic violence in Manipur first began in 2023 between the Meitei and Kuki communities before involving almost every community. Kuki militants abducted and killed six Nagas after holding them captive for nearly a month in Kangpokpi on May 13, escalating the Kuki-Naga tensions. The killings followed a twin ambush on the same day, which killed four people.

A new government was formed in February, nearly a year after the imposition of President’s Rule. It includes representatives from all three major communities as part of an attempt to maintain balance. But sporadic violence has continued and left over 306 people dead and 49 missing since May 2023.