Supreme Court Questions Partial Submission of Manipur Violence Audio Evidence in N Biren Singh Case

The ethnic violence in Manipur that erupted in May 2023 has resulted in 260 casualties.

New Delhi:

On Monday, the Supreme Court raised questions regarding why the complete leaked audio recordings, allegedly implicating former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in the 2023 ethnic conflict, were not submitted for forensic analysis.

The Supreme Court expressed concern about the November 20 affidavit filed by the petitioners, stating it was "little disturbed" that "only select clippings were sent" for examination.

The court questioned government authorities on their decision not to send the entire available leaked audio clip of approximately 48 minutes to Gujarat's National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) for thorough examination. Previously, the NFSU had essentially cleared the former chief minister, concluding that the leaked audio clips were "tampered with".

Singh stepped down from his position as chief minister in February.

During Monday's proceedings, Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe of the Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction with the handling of the matter. The respondent's legal representative claimed they had not received the affidavit.

"Now this affidavit, which according to you has not been served upon you, states to the effect that only select clippings were sent," noted the bench.

Petitioners' counsel Prashant Bhushan suggested that the complete audio recordings they submitted might not have been forwarded to NFSU.

When the respondents' counsel offered to respond to the affidavit, the bench questioned why the complete material wasn't sent to NFSU, remarking, "But why should time be wasted again?"

The bench then inquired about "how much is the material actually available?"

Bhushan explained that the total audio recordings were approximately 56 minutes in length, with 48 minutes submitted to the court. He clarified that the remaining portion identified the individual who made the recording, and disclosing this person's identity could endanger their life.

"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 questioned.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing in the matter, requested one week to respond to the affidavit. The bench observed that the entire 48 minutes of audio clips should have been sent to the NFSU.

After accepting the affidavit, the bench scheduled the next hearing for January 7, noting that Bhati had requested time to respond to the affidavit.

The Supreme Court is hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) seeking an independent investigation into the matter. On November 3, the Supreme Court cited the NFSU's conclusion that the leaked audio clips were "tampered with".

According to the NFSU report, the audio clips showed evidence of editing and tampering and were not scientifically suitable for forensic voice comparison, the court had previously stated.

Bhushan referenced a separate forensic report indicating that one of the recordings was unedited.

On August 19, the Supreme Court expressed displeasure with the Central Forensic Science Laboratory's (CFSL) approach to testing the audio recordings, describing it as "misdirected." The court clarified it hadn't requested verification of the audio clips' authenticity but had directed testing of voice samples.

During the August 25 hearing, the Supreme Court referred the matter to NFSU, Gandhi Nagar, directing them to examine whether the audio clips in question had been modified, edited, or tampered with in any manner.

The court also instructed the NFSU to determine if the voice in the disputed audio clips matched the voice in the admitted audio clip, to conclusively establish whether the same individual was speaking in all recordings.

On May 5, the Supreme Court examined a forensic report on the authenticity of the leaked audio clips and requested the state government to submit a fresh report on the investigation. Earlier, it had sought a sealed-cover forensic report from the CFSL regarding the authenticity of the leaked audio clips.

Since the outbreak of ethnic violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May 2023, over 260 people have lost their lives and thousands have been displaced.