The Hindu (National) ·
Crime, law and justice
Supreme Court seeks Manipur Chief Secretary report on 25 unnatural deaths in relief camps
CJI slams failure to give information on the deaths, including a sexual assault, to a court-appointed panel; asks why post-mortems were conducted in only 20 out of the 640 deaths in the relief camps
The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 17, 2026) ordered the Manipur Chief Secretary to submit a detailed report on 25 unnatural deaths, including an alleged sexual assault, reported among internally displaced persons in relief camps across the State.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant found that the Manipur government had not given satisfactory responses about the deaths to the Supreme Court-appointed Justice Gita Mittal Committee, which is monitoring the relief and rehabilitation provided to the victims of the ethnic violence in 2023.
“This is very, very shocking. One of them involves sexual assault. The information sought by the committee was very serious,” Chief Justice Kant addressed the State’s Advocate General and Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, who is also representing the Manipur government.
‘Include post-mortem details’
The court ordered that the Chief Secretary’s report on the action taken on these deaths must be comprehensive and must include the post-mortem details. The Bench said the report must also contain measures taken to ensure the safety and dignity of internally-displaced persons, who must be given easy access to daily facilities and medical care.
“Tell your Chief Secretary not to invite any problem,” the Chief Justice told the State government’s lawyers.
The State counsel said the delay may have been due to the appointment of a new Chief Secretary a few days ago. The Advocate General said she would convey the court’s concern immediately. “We will convey the sensitivity and importance of the matter,” Ms. Bhati assured the court.
The order also referred to a report highlighting that 640 deaths have occurred in relief camps across eight districts. Post-mortem examinations were allegedly conducted in only 20 cases, following which criminal cases were registered.
The court sought explanations on why post-mortems were conducted in only 20 cases and why only ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 was given as compensation in these cases.
The court also ordered the State Legal Services Authority to intervene to register FIRs in all cases of unnatural deaths.
The Bench took on record a status report filed by former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, who was appointed by the top court to monitor the criminal probe and prosecution of the Manipur violence cases, noting that 42 Special Investigation Teams (SITs) were constituted across eight districts to investigate 3,020 cases. Chargesheets were filed in 302 cases, closure reports in 1,583 cases, and 1,135 cases remained under investigation. Trials had commenced in 33 cases.
The report also said the Central Bureau of Investigation was investigating 31 cases, with chargesheets filed in 28 cases and closure reports in six cases. Three cases remained under investigation. The status report said there were 978 witnesses, of which six had been examined, while 38 people were arrested in the cases. The court also asked Ms. Bhati to convey its suggestion to set up two CBI courts to share the caseload.
Published - September 17, 2026 02:46 pm IST