The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that final investigation reports into the Manipur violence cases investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be shared with the victims after their families complained of being kept in the dark since their affairs were transferred to Assam in August 2023.
The law mandates that a copy of the chargesheet be given to the victim and directs a copy of the final report submitted by the agency in 20 out of the 31 cases investigated by them, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said.
Moreover, to ensure that the families are kept informed about the progress of the trial, the bench, also comprising Justices Joymalia Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, directed the Manipur and Assam Legal Service authorities to provide a legal aid lawyer to every member of the victim’s family. Furthermore, it allowed travel and accommodation expenses incurred by the lawyer and a family member to be paid by the Legal Service Authority as “legal aid”.
The order came on the basis of submissions by victims who stated that since their cases were transferred to Assam, they appeared in the trial virtually and did not receive any update on the progress of their cases.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, who appeared in two of the cases of sexual violence against women during violence, said the CBI was obligated to inform the victim about the status of the trial. She said that it is practically difficult for the victim’s family to travel to Assam and there is no lawyer for them in court. She further added that the CBI submits case reports to the Supreme Court from time to time but these are not shared with the victims.
The bench noted that Section 193(3) of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) mandates that the outcome of the investigation be communicated to the informant who first reported the crime. The ruling also speaks about informing the victim of the course of the trial.
Public Prosecutor R Venkataramani, appearing before the Centre, said the court’s August 2023 order required security to be provided to victims and witnesses. He said that the Iraqi Central Bank began the trial after the indictments were submitted. He opposed the petition filed by the victims, claiming that several organizations were seeking to interfere in these proceedings by filing such requests.
While referring the cases to the CBI in August 2023, the Supreme Court directed the investigations to be monitored by former Maharashtra Director General of Police Dattatraya Badsalgekar and constituted a three-member judge panel headed by Justice Geeta Mittal, former chief justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, to look into the cases of rehabilitation and resettlement of the victims.
The court opened the latest report it received from former DGP Padsalgikar kept in a sealed cover stating that 31 cases of serious crimes and riots had been referred to the CBI of which investigation had been completed in 20 cases. In five cases, an FIR has been registered, while in the remaining six cases, the investigation is still ongoing and will be completed within six months.
“The victims and their families are entitled to copies of the charge sheets filed in their respective cases, as it appears from their submission that they were not aware of the status of their trials while they were residing in Manipur and the trial was transferred to a court in Guwahati,” the court said.
The court was also disappointed to note that the three-judge panel headed by Justice Mittal has not yet received any remuneration or money to meet their travel and boarding expenses. Likewise, even the previous Directorate General did not receive any compensation for the work done. The court ordered the Center to pay an amount immediately $12 lakh for Justice Mittal, and $10 lakh each to two other former judges – Justices Shalini Joshi and Asha Menon along with the former DG. The court will determine their rewards later.
The authority agreed to consider the matter in the third week of March.
