Supreme Court.
Credit: PTI File Photo
The slew of measures announced by the Supreme Court in response to the petitions that came up in the court for intervention in strife-torn Manipur are, as the court stated, meant to provide a “healing touch” to it. Manipur needed the measures after three months of unrelenting violence, which has left its society badly bruised and divided.
They marked, ironically, a loss of trust of the highest court in the way the central and state governments have handled the situation in Manipur, a day before parliament was to debate a no-trust motion against the Narendra Modi government, which has a strong focus on the Manipur situation. The statement of the three-judge bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, that its decisions were intended to instil confidence in the minds of the people by restoring faith in the rule of law may be seen in this context.
The court issued a number of directions which are intended to ensure that there is proper and impartial investigation of the cases reported from the state, including heinous crimes and gross human rights violations, and there will be supervision, intervention and monitoring of relief and rehabilitation. It has transferred all FIRs to the CBI, set up special investigation teams (SIT) which will be led by senior officers, and instituted a three-member panel of former women High Court judges to look into relief and rehabilitation measures. It has ordered that the CBI teams should have officers from outside Manipur, and sought the appointment of a retired IPS officer to supervise the CBI cases and a top police officer from outside Manipur to oversee the SIT cases.
This is an elaborate mechanism to ensure transparency and impartiality in the investigation of cases. The indifference or callousness on the part of the authorities in dealing with the situation has been deeply troubling. The sight of two Kuki women being paraded naked and molested by a mob and the failure of the state to take action on it shocked the nation. The Supreme Court itself observed last week that the police had lost control over the situation and the constitutional machinery had broken down in the state. The court’s measures may be seen as an attempt to ensure that the failure of the law-and-order machinery should not lead to denial of justice to those who need it. After all, it is the responsibility of the highest court of the land to ensure delivery of justice to all citizens. It had to step in because the executive failed. But it should be noted the situation in Manipur goes much beyond law and order. The court can go only so far.