Manipur: Supreme Court asks CBI to refrain from recording statements of sexual assault survivors

The Supreme Court on August 1 restrained the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from recording statements of the survivors of the Manipur sexual violence case that was recorded in a horrific video that went viral on social media.

A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud told the Solicitor General to ask the CBI to wait since the court is scheduled to hear at 2 pm today the cases related to Manipur.

The court is mulling to set up a panel to record the statements of the survivors. The panel is also set to hear the plea for a Special Investigation Team into the matter.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of petitions seeking for an independent court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the violence, specially cases related to sexual violence in the northeastern state of Manipur.

It may be noted that two women survivors seen in the video have submitted before the bench that they are opposed to the Centre’s proposal to hand over the investigation to the CBI and transfer the trial to Assam. In the last hearing, their counsel Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had stated, “They (Union Government) have transferred the matter to the CBI and they want to move the matter to Assam. We’re against both”.

Sibal had asserted that the investigation must be carried out by an agency in which the victims had confidence.


Also read : Manipur violence: NESO delegation heads to the state to assess situation and foster peace