SC takes cognizance of Manipur women viral video; says Court will act if govt doesn’t
In a significant development, the Supreme Court on Thursday said it was “very deeply disturbed” by the video of two women being paraded naked in Manipur, terming it “simply unacceptable in a constitutional democracy”. Taking cognizance of the video, a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked the Centre and Manipur government to take immediate action. Union Home Secretary and Chief Secretary has been asked to file an affidavit and appraise the court on the actions taken. The next hearing is scheduled on July 28.
“We are very deeply disturbed by the videos which have emerged yesterday about the way those two women were paraded in Manipur,” said the bench, also comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Manoj Misra.
“I think it is time that the government really steps in and takes action because this is simply unacceptable,” the CJI said, adding, “We will give a little time to the government to act, otherwise we will take action if nothing is happening on the ground.” Justice Chandrachud said using women as an instrument to perpetrate violence in an area of communal strife is “deeply disturbing” and this is “simply unacceptable”.
As soon as the bench assembled to hear mentioning of matters, the CJI said the apex court had requested Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to come to the court.
“What action has been taken since May to bring the perpetrators to book, and second what action is the government taking to ensure that this is not repeated because who knows, it may have been isolated, it may not be isolated, it may be a pattern,” the CJI told both the law officers.
He said in history and across the world, the use of women as an instrument to perpetrate violence in these situations happens but in a “constitutional democracy, this is unacceptable.” Sharing the deep concern expressed by the CJI, Mehta said such incidents are simply “unacceptable”.
“This Court must be appraised of the steps which have been and shall be taken by the Government to (i) hold the perpetrators accountable; and (ii) ensure that such incidents are not repeated. The Union government and the State government are directed to take immediate steps – remedial, rehabilitative and preventive and to appraise the Court on the action which has been taken before the next date of listing on affidavit,” said the apex court’s order asking Union Home Secretary and Chief Secretary.
Tension mounted in the hills of Manipur after a May 4 video surfaced on Wednesday showing two women from one of the warring communities being paraded naked by a few men from the other side. The video was doing the rounds on the eve of a planned protest march announced by the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) on Thursday to highlight their plight.
At least 150 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organized in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community‘s demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status. The top court, while hearing a batch of petitions on the violence in Manipur, had earlier said it was not a platform to be used for escalating tensions in the state and asked the warring ethnic groups to exercise restraint during court proceedings.
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What did they do in case of Nirbaya case ?
Jessica Lal murder case, which happened under guidance of Supreme Court
In that Telangana case where a young girl was raped & killed, when police eliminated the criminals in an encounter, then Supreme upheld the side of criminals need to be life & bail & be gifted with nobel prize or padma sri award