The Supreme Court questioned why the full 48-minute leaked audio allegedly linked to the Manipur violence was not sent for forensic examination. The bench said it was “little disturbed” that only select clips were tested and fixed the matter for further hearing.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday raised serious questions over why the entire leaked audio recordings, which allegedly point to the role of former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in the 2023 ethnic violence, were not sent for forensic examination.
The apex court said it was “little disturbed” by an affidavit filed on November 20 on behalf of the petitioners, which stated
“to the effect that only select clippings were sent”
for forensic testing.
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The bench questioned the authorities on why the full available leaked audio clip of around 48 minutes was not sent to Gujarat’s National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU).
The issue came up after the NFSU had earlier given a clean chit, stating that the leaked audio clips were “tampered with”. The Supreme Court noted that such a conclusion was reached even though the entire material was not examined.
Former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh had resigned from his post on February 9 amid growing pressure within the BJP and increasing demands for a leadership change in the violence-hit state.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe expressed displeasure during the hearing and reiterated that it was “little disturbed” by the affidavit placed before the court.
When the counsel for the respondents submitted that the affidavit had not been served on them, the bench remarked,
“Now this affidavit, which according to you has not been served upon you, states to the effect that only select clippings were sent…”
Senior Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, explained that it was possible that the full audio recordings filed before the court were not forwarded to the NFSU. When the respondents’ counsel sought time to respond to the affidavit, the bench questioned the delay and asked,
“But why should time be wasted again?”
The bench further asked,
“how much is the material actually available?”
In response, Bhushan said the total audio recordings were about 56 minutes, out of which 48 minutes had been submitted to the court.
He explained that the remaining portion of the recording could reveal the identity of the person who recorded the conversation, and if that identity was disclosed, his life could be in danger.
The bench was not convinced and firmly observed,
“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?”
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Union government, sought one week’s time to respond to the affidavit. The bench, while taking the affidavit on record, observed that the 48-minute audio clips should have been sent to the NFSU for a complete examination.
The Supreme Court fixed the matter for further hearing on January 7, while recording that Bhati had sought time to file a response.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has demanded an independent SIT probe into the leaked audio recordings.
Earlier, on November 3, the Supreme Court had noted that the NFSU had reported that the leaked audio clips were “tampered with”. As per the NFSU report, the recordings showed signs of editing and tampering and were not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison, as recorded by the court.
However, Bhushan pointed out that a separate forensic report had found that one of the recordings was unedited.
On August 19, the apex court had expressed strong displeasure over the Central Forensic Science Laboratory’s (CFSL) approach, calling its exercise “misdirected”. The court clarified that it had not asked for authentication of the clips, but only directed the testing of voice samples.
Subsequently, on August 25, the Supreme Court referred the matter to the NFSU in Gandhinagar to examine whether the audio recordings were modified, edited or tampered with.
The court had also directed the NFSU to determine whether the voice in the disputed clips matched the voice in the admitted recordings, to clearly establish whether the same person was speaking in all the clips.
Earlier, on May 5, the Supreme Court had examined a forensic report on the authenticity of the leaked audio recordings and asked the Manipur government to submit a fresh report on the investigation. Before that, the court had also sought a sealed-cover forensic report from the CFSL.
The leaked audio recordings are linked to the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur in May 2023, in which over 260 people were killed and thousands were displaced. The violence broke out between the Meitei community from the Imphal valley and the Kuki community from the hill areas.
The clashes began after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against an order of the Manipur High Court supporting the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Bhushan had earlier alleged that the recorded conversation prima facie showed the complicity and involvement of the state machinery in the violence against the Kuki Zo community.
In its petition, KOHUR has alleged that N. Biren 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”.
The case will now be taken up for further hearing in January, with the Supreme Court closely examining why the complete audio evidence was not sent for forensic scrutiny.
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