The Supreme Court questioned the Centre for not sharing the complete audio clip allegedly linked to former Manipur Chief Minister Biren Singh and the 2023 ethnic violence. It directed the government to forward the full recording to NFSU for an expedited forensic report in a sealed cover.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (January 7, 2026) directed the Union government to send the complete audio recording submitted by a Kuki rights body to the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gujarat, for proper forensic examination.
The audio clip is linked to allegations that a leaked voice recording indicates the involvement of former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in the 2023 ethnic violence in the State.
A Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kumar questioned the Centre on why the entire audio recording was not forwarded to the forensic agency earlier.
The Union government was represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who informed the Court that the government received the full 48-minute audio clip only after the last hearing held in December. She stated that despite repeated efforts, the complete recording had not been made available earlier.
Appearing for the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), advocates Prashant Bhushan and Cheryl d’Souza countered the government’s claim.
They submitted that the matter had been listed before the Supreme Court at least ten times and that the Centre was aware that the full transcript of the 48-minute recording had already been placed on record along with the petition.
After hearing both sides, the Bench directed the petitioner to forward the complete audio recording to the Union government.
The Court further instructed the government to immediately forward the entire clip to the NFSU and ensure an expedited forensic examination. The Bench also ordered that the forensic report be submitted to the Court in a sealed cover.
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During the previous hearing in December, the Supreme Court had expressed serious concern over the manner in which the audio clip was handled. The Bench was visibly “disturbed” by an affidavit filed by the petitioner in November, which stated that “only select clippings were sent” to the forensic laboratory.
At that stage, the NFSU had reportedly given a clean chit, stating that the leaked audio clip was “tampered with”.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan had earlier told the Court that the complete audio recordings submitted by the petitioners might not have been sent to the NFSU. He explained that the total duration of the audio recordings was around 56 minutes, out of which 48 minutes were filed before the Supreme Court.
According to him, the remaining portion of the recording contained information that could reveal the identity of the whistleblower. He warned that sharing that part of the audio could put the whistleblower’s life at serious risk.
The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust has sought the constitution of an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the contents of the leaked audio recording, claiming that it raises grave concerns regarding the handling of the Manipur ethnic violence.
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