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From panel of retired HC judges to DIGs overseeing SITs: What Supreme Court said on Manipur
The court further said that senior police officers of DIG rank from outside Manipur will oversee the SITs investigating the criminal cases
The Supreme Court on Monday ordered to constitute a three-member judicial committee headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal along with retired justices Asha Menon and Shalini P Joshi to oversee the remedial measures, compensation and rehabilitation in relation to various incidents of ethnic violence in Manipur.
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"The broad outline is to use whatever in our power is to restore faith in rule of law. We will appoint a committee of 3 former HC judges. This committee of three judges will look at the investigation, relief, remedial measures, compensation and rehabilitation. It is a broad-based committee. it will look at the relief camps (also)," the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, reported Bar and Bench.
The top court will finalise and release its order later in the evening today.
The bench comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also ordered a retired IPS officer, Dattatray Padsalgikar, former deputy national security advisor and ex-Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) to supervise the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case.
The court further said that senior police officers of DIG rank from outside Manipur will supervise and oversee the Special Investigation Teams (SITs) investigating the criminal cases, and, CBI teams probing the criminal cases should also have senior officials from outside the violence-hit northeastern state.
Read here: Manipur violence: CBI to probe all 12 cases of crime against women, says govt
The court resumed the hearing on a batch of petitions pertaining to ethnic violence in Manipur with the state government saying that the CBI will probe all 12 FIRs relating to the crimes against women.
Manipur Director General of Police Rajiv Singh was present during the hearing to answer queries on the ethnic violence and steps taken by the administration so far, besides the segregation of cases for the purposes of effective investigation.
Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the state government, respectively, submitted a report on issues including the segregation of cases, which the apex court had sought on August 1.
"The government is handling the situation at a very mature level," the attorney general told the bench.
The state government proposed to set up SITs, headed by the superintendent of police at the district level, to probe sensitive cases. The CBI has been asked to investigate 12 cases.
On August 1, the supreme court said there was a complete breakdown of law and order and constitutional machinery in Manipur.
The Centre had urged the bench that instead of the two FIRs related to a video showing women being paraded naked by a mob, the FIRs linked to violence against women and children may be transferred to the CBI and tried out of Manipur.
Read here: More forces rushed to tense Manipur; tribal body likely to meet Amit Shah today
According to a report accessed by Hindustan Times, a total of 12 cases documenting crime against women during the ethnic clashes in Manipur shows grisly incidents including the gang-rape of five women, murder of four women, and assault with intent to outrage the modesty of 10 other women.
Ethnic clashes between Kukis and Meiteis broke out in Manipur on May 3, and have been continuing for the last three months, claiming over 160 lives.
(With inputs from agencies)
