The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that a forensic report on the authenticity of a leaked audio clip regarding the alleged role of former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in the ethnic violence in the northeastern State was ready and would be filed shortly in a sealed cover.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna took note of the submissions of the counsel appearing for the Centre and the State Government to this effect and deferred the hearing on a plea filed by Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) in the week commencing May 5.
The counsel said the report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) will be filed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and sought an adjournment, saying the law officer was unavailable at the moment.
Singh resigned as the Chief Minister of Manipur on February 9, amid rumblings within the State BJP and growing demands for a change in leadership of the State. Earlier, the top court sought a sealed-cover report from the CFSL on the authenticity of the leaked audio clips that allegedly hinted at then CM Singh’s role in the ethnic violence that began in May 2023. KOHUR, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, had sought a court-monitored SIT probe into Singh’s alleged role. “The State is gradually limping back to normalcy and we will keep it (the matter) on hold at the moment,†the CJI had said, adding he would see later whether the top court or the High Court should hear the case. The Solicitor General agreed with the observations.
Bhushan termed the contents of leaked audio a “very serious matter†and said Singh was purportedly heard saying that Meitei groups were allowed to loot arms and ammunition of the State Government. “I have annexed transcripts of tape recordings,†he added.
The Solicitor General said the petitioner had “ideological inclinations†and there was a report by a committee of three High Court Judges which stated that there were efforts to keep the “pot boilingâ€.
“A truth lab confirmed that 93 per cent it is the voice of the (then) Chief Minister,†said Bhushan, “and truth labs are far more reliable than the FSL reportsâ€. The law officer, however, questioned the veracity of the truth lab report. On November 8 last year, a bench headed by the then CJI DY Chandrachud directed KOHUR to produce material to indicate the authenticity of some of the leaked audio clips. Bhushan had said he would also file a copy of the tape in a CD format. Mehta, however, said the plea could be filed in the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
Bhushan said that the recorded conversation prima facie showed the complicity and involvement of the State machinery in the violence against the Kuki Zo community. He said the clips had “disturbing conversations†and Singh could be heard instigating the violence and protecting the attackers.
KOHUR’s plea alleged that Singh 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 Manipurâ€.
“The petitioner is praying for a court-monitored investigation by a Special Investigation Team into the leaked audio tape clips as there is clear and strong prima facie evidence showing involvement of the highest functionary, ie, the (then) Chief Minister. The investigation will need to unearth the conspiracy which appears to involve the highest functionary of the State,†the plea in the Apex Court said.
