SC Proposes Exclusive Special Courts for CBI, NIA Manipur Violence Cases

The Supreme Court on Monday proposed the creation of special courts to exclusively handle cases related to the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence that are being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The proposal comes as hundreds of witnesses await examination in these cases.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant requested the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court to consider setting up two separate special courts — one for CBI cases and another for NIA cases — to conduct day-to-day trials. The court also sought a status report on this aspect by the next date of hearing.

The ethnic violence in Manipur erupted in May 2023, triggered by a tribal solidarity march over the demand to include the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list. The clashes between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities led to a significant loss of lives, displacement of thousands, and widespread damage to property. The Supreme Court has been monitoring the investigation and trial of these cases since the beginning.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the central agencies, told the court that the CBI has investigated 31 cases. Of these, final reports have been filed in 27 cases — 22 charge sheets and five closure reports. Four cases are still under investigation. She further stated that courts have taken cognisance in 20 of the 22 charge-sheeted cases. Only one case is triable by a Magistrate’s court, while the remaining cases involve serious offences and are to be tried by a Sessions court.

Regarding the NIA, Bhati said the agency has investigated 30 cases. Charge sheets have been filed in 15 cases, while the remaining 15 are still under investigation.

The push for special courts is driven by the huge number of witnesses yet to be examined. According to the CBI’s status report, of the 904 witnesses in its cases, only 13 have been examined so far, leaving 891 still to testify.

“Having regard to the total number of witnesses proposed to be examined, we request the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court to consider the feasibility of allowing the CBI/NIA court to exclusively deal with Manipur-related cases. Other cases be transferred to some other court,” the Bench observed.

The Supreme Court had previously transferred the CBI cases from Manipur to Gauhati. It has also passed a series of directions to ensure that the investigation and trial proceed expeditiously.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for one of the petitioners, expressed concern over the lack of progress in the trials. He noted that heinous crimes, including sexual assault and gangrape of women during the violence, were committed openly and some were even caught on camera, yet trials have not moved forward meaningfully.

Bhati objected to these submissions, arguing that the Supreme Court has already put in place a mechanism for investigation and trial through its orders over the past three years. “To raise these issues again is like going back to the initial days of the writ petition. Legal aid counsel are there. To raise the whole issue again when the Supreme Court has been seized of this matter for the last three years and has passed a series of directions is unnecessary,” she submitted.

The Bench will take up the matter again after receiving the status report from the Gauhati High Court on the feasibility of constituting the special courts.