‘Can’t justify what happened in Manipur by…’: SC on Manipur viral video case

The CJI on Monday told the lawyer that undoubtedly there are crimes that are taking place against women across the country, that is our social reality.

“We are dealing with an unprecedented magnitude of violence against women in communal and sectarian strife. We cannot justify what happened in Manipur by saying that this and this happened elsewhere. Are you saying protect all women or don’t protect anyone? news agency YEARS quoted the CJI.

The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the whataboutery that has ensued the sexual harassment cases in Manipur. While Opposition bloc has blamed the ruling dispensation in Manipur, the  Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) led by Chief Minister N Biren Singh for delaying action.

The Supreme Court called for evolving a broad mechanism to deal with violence against women in strife-torn Manipur and asked how many FIRs have been registered in such incidents in the state since May.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that the Union of India has no objection if the apex court monitors the investigation into the Manipur violence.

The bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, is hearing a batch of petitions concerning the violence in Manipur.

At the outset, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the two women who were seen in a May 4 video being paraded naked in Manipur, said they have filed a petition in the matter.

The hearing in the matter is underway.

The apex court on July 20 observed that it was “deeply disturbed” by the video of two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying that using women as instruments for perpetrating violence is “simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy”.

Taking cognisance of the video, a bench headed by the chief justice of India directed the Centre and the Manipur government to take immediate remedial, rehabilitative and preventive steps and apprise it of the action taken.

On July 27, the Centre informed the top court that it has transferred to the CBI the probe into a case related to two women being paraded naked in strife-torn Manipur, saying the government has “zero tolerance towards any crimes against women”.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), in an affidavit filed through its Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla, also urged the top court to transfer the trial outside Manipur in the case for the conclusion of the trial in a time-bound manner. Seven people have been arrested in the case so far.

Scores of people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.”

Updated: 31 Jul 2023, 03:16 PM IST