New Delhi, 17 September (H.S.): The Supreme Court has directed the Chief Secretary of Manipur to file a report on 25 unnatural deaths reported in relief camps set up for victims of the 2023 ethnic violence in the state. The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant.

During the hearing, the court took note of a report submitted by an IAS officer from Manipur, which stated that 608 deaths had occurred in the relief camps, but post-mortem examinations had been conducted in only 20 cases. The court questioned why post-mortem examinations had not been carried out in all cases involving unnatural deaths.

The violence in Manipur began after some tribal groups opposed the demand for granting Scheduled Tribe status to the majority Meitei community. On April 19, 2023, the Manipur High Court had directed the state government to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list. Following the order, violent ethnic clashes broke out between the Meitei and Kuki communities in the state. The Manipur High Court subsequently withdrew its contentious April 2023 order in 2024.

During the Manipur violence, a video showing two women being paraded naked went viral in July 2023, following which the Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter. The Supreme Court has previously issued directions concerning relief camps, compensation, security arrangements and the rehabilitation of people displaced by the violence.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar