New Delhi, March 24 The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the response of the Manipur State Legal Authority on appointing a legal aid counsel for the two women, who were allegedly paraded naked during the 2023 ethnic clashes in the state.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued a notice to the Manipur State Legal Service Authority while hearing a plea of the CBI against the grant of bail by the Gauhati High Court to the two accused, Arun Khundongbam and Nameirakpam Kiran Meitei, who were allegedly involved in gang-rape and parading the victims naked.
On September 8, 2025, the Gauhati High Court granted bail to the two accused, citing that they had been in custody for two years while charges were yet to be framed, and termed it as "unjustified prolonged incarceration".
"While the accusations here are grave and shocking, this court cannot overlook that indefinite detention without trial amounts to pretrial punishment, which is impermissible in law," the Gauhati High Court had said in its order.
During the hearing, the counsel for the CBI sought the cancellation of bail due to the serious allegations of sexual violence.
"The accused had paraded the women naked. This is a gross case. The women were gang-raped and then paraded," he said.
Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for the victims, said, "On February 26, this court said that a legal aid counsel would be appointed for the victims. They have not been appointed yet."
He further requested that the legal aid counsel be fluent in the languages spoken in Manipur, as the victims were only able to converse in their native language.
The court directed the state legal services authority to appoint legal aid counsel for the victims.
On February 13, the top court asked the CBI, which is probing 11 FIRs in the case, to file a status report within two weeks.
On July 20, 2023, the apex court took suo-moto cognisance of the matter after a video of the assault surfaced online and was widely shared months later, triggering nationwide outrage.
Ethnic violence in Manipur broke out on May 3, 2025, after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts. The protest was held against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The violence has claimed over 260 lives.
The violence was preceded by earlier tensions over the eviction of Kuki villagers from reserve forest land, which had led to a series of smaller agitations.
In August 2023, the Centre constituted the Justice Gita Mittal Commission to oversee the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur, on the recommendation of the government of Manipur, citing the necessity of an inquiry into a matter of public importance. Its tenure was recently extended till July 31.