New Delhi, February 26 In a significant set of directions, the Supreme Court on Thursday asked the CBI and Manipur SITs to provide copies of charge sheets filed by them in the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence cases to the victims and their families.
The directions were issued after the top court perused the 12th status report filed by former Maharashtra Police chief Dattatray Padsalgikar, who was entrusted with the task to monitor investigations into the criminal cases in Manipur.
Padsalgikar, in his report, said the CBI has filed charge sheets in the special court in 20 violence cases, and the investigations in six other FIRs were underway and would be concluded in the next six months.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi asked the CBI to ensure that the investigations in the remaining violence cases are completed within the stipulated time and that charge sheets are filed.
Taking note of the vehement submissions of senior advocate Vrinda Grover that the victims and their families are in the dark about the fate of the cases, the CJI asked the CBI and the SITs of state police to share the copies of the charge sheets with the affected persons.
"The Manipur State Legal Services Authority (SLSA) and the Assam State Legal Services Authority are directed to provide free legal aid counsel to each victim," the bench said, adding that such lawyers should be proficient in the local language so that victims and their families can communicate with them.
The bench directed the Manipur SLSA to foot the bills for the travel and accommodation of legal aid counsels for their trips to Guwahati for the trial in the cases.
The top court had earlier transferred the cases from Manipur to Assam. It also asked the legal services authority to bear the expenses of the victims and their family members for their travel and stay in Guwahati for attending the cases. It said one person per case can avail this facility.
"The legal aid counsel shall be entitled to assist the special trial court through public prosecutors or independently as per the prevailing situations," it said.
The bench said it has neither pursued the charge sheets nor made any comments on their merits, and therefore, the victims and their family members will be at liberty to raise all their grievances before the special court trying the cases.
Keeping the safety and security aspects in mind, the bench, however, made clear that its earlier order permitting victims to record their statements through video conferencing facilities before the trial court at Guwahati would remain in force.
The bench expressed shock over the non-payment of any honorarium to the three-member judges panel headed by former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Justice Gita Mittal, who was entrusted with the task of monitoring the rehabilitation of victims and Padsalgikar, who has been monitoring investigations in criminal cases.
"We are disappointed to know that no reimbursement for their travel and work has been done so far. We deem it appropriate that as an interim measure, let Rs 12 lakhs be given to Justice Mittal and Rs 10 lakh each to Justices Shalini P Joshi, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, and Asha Menon, an ex-judge of the Delhi High Court (who are also part of the panel)," the CJI said.
It also asked the Centre to pay Rs 10 lakh to Padsalgikar at the moment for his services.
The bench said it will later fix the honorarium for the panel members and the former DGP for their assistance.
The bench has now fixed the plea for further directions in the third week of March. On February 13, the bench had sought the status report on the progress made in the investigation in the criminal cases.
More than 200 people have been killed, several hundred injured, and thousands displaced since ethnic violence first broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organized in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
At the outset, Grover, appearing for one of the women victims who passed away recently, said that she should be represented by her mother, and that the CBI had not even informed her that a charge sheet in her rape case had been filed.
Grover said the Kuki woman died last month from an illness allegedly linked to the trauma she suffered after being gang-raped.
Last month, the Supreme Court extended the tenure of the apex court-appointed Justice Gita Mittal committee set up to oversee the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur, until July 31.
