The Supreme Court on Monday underlined its resolve to not protect any individual "involved in wrongdoings in relation to the communal violence" that erupted in Manipur in May 2023.
A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said this as it heard a plea by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust, or KOHUR, for a court-monitored probe against ex-Chief Minister N Biren Singh over leaked audio clips in which he can allegedly be heard instigating the violence.
The remark was made after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central government, questioned the credibility of the KOHUR, calling it a "rookie" group.
The court, however, dismissed such arguments, stressing, "We are not concerned. Let us ignore the petitioner... but if something wrong has been done, we don't have to protect the wrongdoer."
In today's hearing the Chief Justice-led bench was going through a Central Forensic Science Laboratory report on the authenticity of those audio clips. The report had been requested by the court after the government questioned the credibility of an earlier report, from a private lab.
READ | 'Report On N Biren Singh Audio Tapes Ready': Centre To Supreme Court
The contents of the report - sealed for the court - have not been made public but, interestingly, after examining it, the court told Mr Mehta he would have to "speak to your officers about it".
"I have not seen it...have to respond to content," Mr Mehta said, to which the court said, "Read the content and then talk (to the government). Please examine and bring fresh report."
The court then set the week beginning July 21 for the next hearing, noting that in the meantime investigations against N Biren Singh will continue and that this will take about a month more.
"Now we have President's Rule there... it should not be a problem," the Chief Justice said.
Earlier KOHUR, represented by lawyer Prashant Bhushan, termed the contents of the leaks a "very serious matter", and said Mr Singh was purportedly heard saying Meitei groups were allowed to loot arms and ammunition of the state.
READ | Did N Biren Singh Stoke Manipur Violence? Court Seeks Govt Lab Report
The petitioner cited a report by a private lab - Truth Labs - that confirmed a 93 per cent match between the voice on the tapes and that of ex-Chief Minister Biren Singh.
"Truth Labs reports are far more reliable than the FSL reports," Mr Bhushan had argued.
The government's lawyer, however, questioned the veracity of the Truth Labs report.
More than 260 people have been killed and thousands displaced since the ethnic violence broke out between the Meitei community and the Kuki tribes in May 2023.
Mr Bhushan alleged the recorded conversation prima facie showed the complicity and involvement of the state machinery in the violence against the Kuki Zo community.
And KOHUR's plea alleged that Mr Singh - who resigned in February - was instrumental in "inciting, organising and thereafter centrally orchestrating the large-scale murder, destruction and other forms of violence against the Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur".
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