Songpi, July 25, 2026: The Supreme Court of India on Friday proposed setting up Special Courts to hold day-to-day trials in criminal cases linked to the 2023 ethnic violence in Manipur. The court expressed serious concern over the slow pace of investigations and said pending probes must be finished within a reasonable time.
The proposal was made by a three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana. The Bench was hearing a batch of petitions related to Manipur violence and reviewed status reports filed by investigating agencies.
The court took note of reports submitted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Special Investigation Teams (SITs) and former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar, who was appointed by the apex court to monitor the investigations in the state.
As per the status reports, the CBI has filed charge sheets in 21 cases, while investigation is still pending in 11 cases. Closure reports have been accepted in three cases and four cases are still under active probe. The SITs, which are probing 3,020 cases across eight districts, have filed charge sheets in 301 cases.
The court was informed that trial has commenced in only 10 cases so far, despite a total of 2,924 witnesses proposed to be examined across all cases. The Bench observed that this slow progress is a matter of concern for victims seeking justice.
The CBI told the court that it is facing several hurdles in completing the investigation, including relocation of witnesses to other states, lack of cooperation due to mistrust among communities, language barriers and difficulty in collecting digital evidence due to long suspension of internet services in Manipur.
Responding to these submissions, the Bench said that while it understands the challenges faced by the agencies, investigations cannot be delayed indefinitely and must be brought to a logical conclusion soon.
The court tentatively proposed to constitute Special Courts in consultation with the State of Manipur and the High Courts of Manipur and Gauhati, so that trials can be taken up on a daily basis without further delay.
It clarified that day-to-day trial will only be possible if the CBI and SITs complete their pending investigations and file charge sheets expeditiously. The State Government was directed to extend full cooperation to all investigating agencies.
The Bench also addressed complaints that victim families have not received copies of charge sheets. Advocate Vrinda Grover submitted that families of deceased victims have still not been given the documents. The court directed legal aid counsel to contact the High Courts and ensure that charge sheets are supplied to victims and their lawyers within one week.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati clarified that the direction to supply charge sheets is limited to victims and their lawyers only, and not to third parties or PIL petitioners, as the documents are part of sensitive criminal proceedings.
The court also heard a plea regarding about 30 missing persons filed by an organization and directed the applicants to approach the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court for appropriate directions. On the issue of reconstruction of religious structures, the court said the government has rightly prioritized housing for displaced persons, but no encroachment should be allowed on such sites.
The tenure of the three-member committee appointed to look into rehabilitation and other issues was extended till December 2026. The court directed the committee to verify claims of damage to places of worship and ensure protection from encroachment where lawful structures existed before.
