Manipur viral video case: CBI to take over probe, Centre tells Supreme Court

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will take over the probe into a case related to two women being paraded naked by a mob in strife-torn Manipur. In an affidavit presented by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla, the Centre said the decision to hand over the case to CBI was made after consulting the Manipur government, India Today reported.

It may be noted that so far, seven persons have been arrested by the Manipur Police in the case. The Central Government, in the affidavit, said it has a zero-tolerance policy towards crimes against women, particularly ones as heinous as the case in Manipur. The MHA also urged the top court to transfer the trial outside Manipur in the case for conclusion of the trial in a time-bound manner.

Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced last week that showed two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side. The video was doing the rounds on the eve of a planned protest march announced by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum to highlight their plight.

The Supreme Court, on July 20, took suo motu cognisance of the video. The apex court called it the “grossest of constitutional abuse” and asked the Centre and the Manipur government to apprise the court on the steps taken.

A bench helmed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said that the court was deeply disturbed and that it will take necessary steps if the government does not. "Simply unacceptable. Using women as an instrument in an area of communal strife. Grossest of constitutional abuse. We are deeply disturbed by the videos which have emerged. If the government does not act, we will," said the Chief Justice. The bench comprised Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra.

"We are of the view that the court must be apprised of the steps taken by the govt so that perpetrators are booked for such violence. What is portrayed in the media and visuals which appeared shows gross constitutional violation and infraction of human life using women as instruments of perpetrated violence is against constitutional democracy. Let Centre and state apprise court on steps taken," stated the court, as mentioned in a report in Bar and Bench.  

As per the affidavit, the Manipur government had recommended the transfer of the investigation to the CBI on May 26, and the MHA approved the recommendation and forwarded it to the Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training on Thursday, July 27.

The affidavit said the central government believed that the investigation should be completed at the earliest and the trial be also conducted in a time-bound manner "which must take place outside Manipur". "The power to transfer the case/trial outside any state is only with this court and, therefore, the central government is making this request to this court to pass such an order with a further direction to conclude the trial within a period of six months from the date of the filing of charge sheet by the CBI," it said.

At least 150 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.

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