Manipur violence: Supreme Court rejects sealed FSL report on leaked audio clips, orders fresh examination

The Supreme Court on Monday raised serious doubts over the authenticity of a sealed cover report submitted by the union government regarding leaked audio tapes allegedly featuring former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh. The top court directed the government to ensure that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) re-examines the audio recordings and furnishes a fresh report.

A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar made it clear that the existing FSL report lacked credibility. The audio tapes in question purportedly feature Singh admitting that the ethnic violence in Manipur was provoked on his insistence.

The court asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take instructions from the Centre on arranging for the CFSL to conduct a thorough re-examination of the audio files. “What is this? You have to speak to your officers about it. Read the content and then talk to the officers. Please examine and bring a fresh report,” the bench remarked after perusing the sealed cover report handed over by the government.

Even as Mehta clarified that he had not personally reviewed the contents and hence could not comment, the court underscored that neither the judiciary nor the government could afford to shield anyone from scrutiny.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust, represented by advocate Prashant Bhushan, which has sought a court-supervised Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the tapes. The petition claims the recordings contain incriminating evidence linking the former Chief Minister to the ethnic violence that erupted between the Meitei and Kuki communities in May 2023 and continued until February this year. The clashes claimed over 230 lives and displaced thousands across the northeastern state.