The Supreme Court on Monday questioned why the entire set of leaked audio clips, which a plea claims point to the role of former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh in the 2023 ethnic violence, were not sent for forensic examination, and said it was “little disturbed” that only select portions were examined.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe expressed unhappiness over an affidavit filed on November 20 on behalf of the petitioners, which stated that only select clippings were sent to Gujarat’s National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).
“Now this affidavit, which according to you has not been served upon you, states to the effect that only select clippings were sent…,” the bench observed while questioning the respondents.
The court asked the government authorities why the entire available leaked audio clip of around 48 minutes was not sent to the NFSU for examination, especially when the material was already available. “Once the entire tape was available with you, the entire tape ought to have been sent to the NFSU. Why should they send only this limited one?” the bench asked.
When counsel for the respondents said they would respond to the affidavit, the bench remarked, “But why should time be wasted again?” and sought to know how much material was actually available.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said the total audio tapes were roughly 56 minutes long, of which 48 minutes had been filed before the court. He explained that the remaining portion of the audio identifies the person who made the recording, and disclosing that identity could endanger the person’s life.
Bhushan also stated that it was possible that the full audio clips filed by the petitioners were not sent to the NFSU. He referred to a separate forensic report, contending that it had found one of the recordings to be unedited.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing in the matter, sought a week’s time to respond to the affidavit. Taking the affidavit on record, the bench fixed the matter for further hearing on January 7, while noting the request for time.
The bench observed that the audio clips of 48 minutes ought to have been sent to the NFSU.
The apex court was hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has sought an independent SIT probe into the matter.
On November 3, the Supreme Court had noted that the NFSU had said the leaked audio clips were “tampered with”. According to the NFSU report, the audio clips showed signs of editing and tampering and were not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison.
Earlier, on August 19, the top court expressed displeasure over the Central Forensic Science Laboratory’s (CFSL) exercise to test the audio recordings, calling it “misdirected”. The court said it had not asked about the authenticity of the audio clips but had directed testing of the voice samples.
On August 25, the apex court referred the matter to the NFSU at Gandhinagar to examine whether the audio clips were modified, edited or tampered with, and to determine whether the voice in the disputed clips matched the voice in the admitted audio clip.
On May 5, the court examined a forensic report on the authenticity of the leaked audio clips and asked the Manipur government to file a fresh report on the probe. It had earlier sought a sealed-cover forensic report from the CFSL.
KOHUR’s plea alleges that the recorded conversation prima facie shows complicity and involvement of the state machinery in the violence against the Kuki-Zo community. The petition claims that Singh was instrumental in “inciting, organising and thereafter centrally orchestrating the large-scale murder, destruction and other forms of violence against the Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur”.
Singh resigned as Manipur chief minister on February 9 amid internal dissent within the BJP and growing demands for a leadership change.
More than 260 people were killed and thousands displaced after ethnic violence erupted between the Imphal valley-based Meitei community and the neighbouring hills-based Kuki community in May 2023. The clashes began after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against a Manipur High Court order on the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
