The Supreme Court heard a batch of matters concerning investigations and oversight arising from the Manipur violence, during which it expressed serious concern over the non-payment of travel and work-related expenses to the court-appointed monitoring committee since its constitution in August 2023.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading the Bench, noted with disapproval that no reimbursement whatsoever had been made to the members of the committee chaired by Gita Mittal, despite their sustained engagement over the past two years.
“We are disappointed to know that no reimbursement for their travel and work has been done so far,” the CJI observed.
As an interim measure, the Court directed that ₹10 lakh be released to each of the three committee members, recognising that they had incurred substantial expenses and would continue to do so. The Bench clarified that honorarium would be fixed separately at a later stage, and that the present direction was confined to meeting immediate expenses.
The Court ordered that the Union Government shall release the interim amount forthwith, with the question of sharing the financial burden with the State of Manipur to be addressed subsequently. A similar interim payment of ₹10 lakh was also directed to be released to Mr. Dattatray, who is heading the CBI-led investigation into cases arising from the Manipur violence, noting that he too had been assisting the Court on its invitation.
During the hearing, the Court was also informed that while several accused persons had been arrested in connection with violence-related incidents, no cognisance had been taken and no charges had been framed for rape at this stage. It was submitted that the accused were facing charges under other provisions, and that scrutiny of the charge-sheets would be necessary at the trial stage to determine whether further intervention was warranted.
The Bench observed that victim participation would arise at the appropriate stage once the charge-sheets are examined by the trial courts, and noted submissions that the Special Public Prosecutor before the Special Court had not objected to the manner in which proceedings had progressed so far. The Court reiterated that victims are entitled to active participation in accordance with law at the appropriate stage of proceedings.
The Court also permitted withdrawal of certain individual matters with liberty to approach the respective jurisdictional High Courts, while taking note of status reports placed on record regarding rehabilitation efforts, including housing and education initiatives.
The Bench indicated that remaining issues, including pending investigation-related concerns and transferred cases, would be taken up in subsequent hearings, as the Supreme Court continues its ongoing supervision of matters arising from the Manipur violence.