Imphal, Aug 08: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday said the Manipur government’s status report on 6,523 FIRs points to an “absolute breakdown of the constitutional machinery” in the state since ethnic violence broke out at the beginning of May, this year.
The Supreme Court directed the Manipur Director General of Police to be personally present in the Court in the next hearing and to be in a position to answer the questions of the Court.
“This shows that from the beginning of May till the end of July, there was an absolute breakdown of constitutional machinery. There was no law in the State… a complete breakdown of law and order. If law and order cannot protect citizens, where are we left?” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, heading a three-judge Bench, asked the Manipur government, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta.
In its order, the Court said that, on prima facie analysis, the police investigation into the cases was “tardy”. There was a “considerable lapse of time” between the occurrence of the incidents and the registration of FIRs and recording of witness statements. Arrests were “few and far between”, the Bench noted.
The court said the burden of probing over 6,500 cases single-handedly may leave the CBI “dysfunctional”. In fact, the day began with the apex court stopping a CBI team from recording the statements of the rape survivors in the Thoubal case at noon, just two hours before the court hearing was scheduled at 2 pm.
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