SC proposes special courts to exclusively hear CBI, NIA cases on Manipur ethnic violence

The Supreme Court proposed establishing Special Courts to handle cases involving ethnic violence in Manipur, which were investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The proposal was made by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who directed the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court to create the Special Courts on a daily basis.

The court requested a status report from the next hearing. The CBI completed investigations on 27 out of 31 cases, with 22 charge sheets filed and five closure reports. Four cases remain under investigation. The NIA investigated 30 cases, filing chargesheets in 15 and leaving the remaining 15 under investigation. Earlier, the Supreme Court had transferred CBI cases to Gauhati for trial.

The court emphasized the need for Special Courts due to the large number of witnesses awaiting to testify, with only 891 of the 904 witnesses yet to be examined. Legal aid counsel were available, but the petitioners argued that repeatedly raising the issue would be counterproductive, as the Supreme Court has been handling the cases for the past three years.