It is one of the bizarre things of India's own -- 'law will take its own course' phenomenon.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, Aug 19 criticised CFSL for giving “wishy-washy answers” in testing leaked audio tapes linked to ex-Manipur CM N Biren Singh’s alleged role in ethnic violence.
The bench clarified it only wanted a voice-match, and not video authenticity.
A Kuki organisation KOHUR petition had sought a court-monitored SIT investigation into Singh’s alleged role. According to Bhushan, the leaked audios contained “very serious matter” where Singh could be heard saying that Meitei groups were permitted to loot arms and ammunition belonging to the state.
“We had not asked about authenticity of the video. What we are asking for is after testing that voice with the admitted voice of the individual whether it can be identified that same persons are speaking in both?”
-- a bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma said the Govt-run laboratory had misunderstood its directions.
The court explained that it had not asked for the authenticity of the videos to be checked, but only wanted to know if the voice in the clips matched Biren Singh’s admitted voice samples.
“We had not asked about authenticity of the video. What we are asking for is after testing that voice with the admitted voice of the individual whether it can be identified that same persons are speaking in both?”
It further told Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati :
“We don’t need authenticity of the video to be established. The entire exercise seems to be misdirected. Only wishy-washy answers are being given. The CFSL is under the impression that we want to know if the video is authentic or not.”
Since Solicitor General Tushar Mehta was engaged in another court, the matter was posted for hearing again on August 25.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had criticised the Manipur government for failing to place on record a fresh forensic report on the leaked clips despite being ordered to do so.
On May 5, a bench led by former CJI Sanjiv Khanna had already seen a forensic report about the authenticity of the leaked audios and directed the state to file a fresh report.
During the hearing, the court rejected a plea from senior counsel Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR).
The Kuki body pressed for an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe. He argued that the same government to which Singh belongs has control over the CFSL, raising doubts about fairness.
But the bench was not convinced.
“You cannot suspect the bonafides of every organisation on the ground of administrative control. We will have to bring an organisation from abroad," the two-member bench said.
The Manipur government had informed the court that a new forensic report on the authenticity of the audios was ready to be filed.
Manipur is now under President's Rule.
Biren Singh resigned as Manipur Chief Minister on February 9, 2025 after rising pressure within the BJP and demands for a change in leadership.
On November 8 last year, a bench headed by former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud directed KOHUR to furnish material substantiating the authenticity of the leaked recordings.
The violence in Manipur began in May 2023 after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was organised in the hill districts protesting against a Manipur High Court order related to the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Officials say since then, over 260 people have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced as clashes broke out between the Meitei population in the Imphal valley and the Kuki community in the hills.
There is absolute communication gap between Kukis and Meities since May 2023.
ends
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