The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed “serious concern” over the prolonged delay in appointing legal aid counsel for victims of the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence, noting that its previous orders have remained unfulfilled for a month. A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the state legal services authorities of both Manipur and Assam to immediately shortlist and appoint lawyers conversant in local languages to assist victims in the ongoing trials.
“It has been a month since our orders were passed. Nothing has been complied with,” Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked during the hearing, emphasizing that the coordination process between the two states “ought not to have taken so much time.”
The top court’s intervention follows a February 26 directive which mandated that the Assam and Manipur State Legal Services Authorities provide free legal aid to every victim and their family. Because several high-profile cases were transferred to Guwahati, Assam, the court had emphasized the need for counsel who understand the local dialects of the victims to ensure effective representation.
During Tuesday’s proceedings, the bench was informed that the two legal services bodies are still in the process of coordinating a shortlist of lawyers. The Advocate General of Manipur, however, assured the court that the matter would be addressed immediately and counsel would be made available to the families without further delay.
The hearing also highlighted a friction point regarding the distribution of legal documents. While Senior Advocate Vrinda Grover, representing some of the victims, alleged that trials were proceeding in a “casual manner” and that families had not received copies of charge sheets, the government contested this claim.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the CBI, maintained that copies of the charge sheets had already been provided to each victim. In response, the Supreme Court ruled that once legal aid counsel are officially appointed, they must immediately obtain these charge sheets to represent the victims effectively. The bench further instructed trial courts to specifically record in their orders whether these documents have been furnished to the parties involved.
The proceedings are part of a broader oversight by the apex court into the aftermath of the violence that erupted on May 3, 2023. The court sought updated status reports from two key monitoring bodies:
- The Padsalgikar Committee: Led by former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, which is overseeing the investigations by the CBI and Specialized Investigation Teams (SITs).
- The Gita Mittal Panel: A three-member committee led by former High Court Judge Gita Mittal, tasked with overseeing rehabilitation, compensation, and the reconstruction of essential documents for the displaced.
Attorney General R. Venkataramani assured the bench that any specific grievances brought to his notice regarding the trial process would be examined.
The ethnic conflict, which began following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ protesting the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status, has resulted in over 200 deaths, hundreds of injuries, and the displacement of thousands of residents. The Supreme Court continues to monitor the legal and humanitarian response to ensure the rule of law is maintained as the trials progress in neighboring Assam.
