The Centre told the Supreme Court on Thursday that a forensic report checking whether leaked audio clips about former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh's role in the ethnic violence are real is ready and will be submitted soon in a sealed envelope.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna noted the submission made by the Centre and the Manipur government and deferred the hearing on the petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) to the week beginning May 5. The Centre's counsel said that the report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) would be filed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, but sought an adjournment as the law officer was currently unavailable.
Singh resigned from the post of Chief Minister on February 9, amid internal discord within the state BJP and increasing calls for a leadership change. The Supreme Court had earlier asked for a forensic report from the CFSL in a sealed cover to verify the authenticity of leaked audio recordings that allegedly implicated Singh in the ethnic violence which erupted in May 2023.
The plea, filed by KOHUR and represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, seeks a court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into Singh’s alleged role in the violence. Bhushan told the court that the leaked audio content was highly serious and that Singh was allegedly heard saying Meitei groups were allowed to seize arms and ammunition from state stockpiles.
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Bhushan submitted transcripts of the recordings and claimed that an independent “truth lab” had confirmed with 93 percent accuracy that the voice belonged to the former chief minister.
He argued that truth labs were often more reliable than government forensic reports. The Solicitor General, however, questioned the accuracy and credibility of the truth lab’s findings and also accused the petitioner of having ideological motivations.
He referenced a report by a panel of three High Court judges which suggested there were attempts to keep tensions in the region alive.
Chief Justice Khanna had earlier remarked that the situation in the state was gradually returning to normal and that the court would decide later whether the matter should be heard by the Supreme Court or the High Court.
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The Solicitor General concurred with this view. On November 8 last year, a previous Bench led by then CJI D Y Chandrachud had directed KOHUR to present material supporting the authenticity of the leaked clips. Bhushan had agreed to file a CD containing the recordings, though the Centre had maintained that the case could be more appropriately heard in the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The ethnic violence, which began in May 2023, has led to the deaths of over 260 people and the displacement of thousands. The clashes erupted following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ organised in the hill districts in response to a Manipur High Court order that appeared to favour the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Bhushan alleged that the leaked audio recordings provided strong prima facie evidence of the state machinery’s involvement in the violence against the Kuki Zo community, and claimed that Singh could be heard instigating and shielding the perpetrators.
KOHUR’s petition argues that the former chief minister played a central role in inciting and orchestrating widespread violence, killings, and destruction in Kuki-dominated areas and urged the court to order a special investigation to uncover what it described as a high-level conspiracy involving the state’s top leadership.
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