The Supreme Court directed that the complete 48-minute audio recording allegedly linking N Biren Singh, former chief minister (CM) of Manipur, to the 2023 ethnic violence, along with his admitted voice samples, be sent to the National Forensic Science University (NFSU) in Gandhinagar, for a fresh forensic examination.
A bench comprising justice Sanjay Kumar and justice K Vinod Chandran passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has sought a court-monitored investigation into the contents of the leaked audio recording. The Court instructed the forensic university to expedite the analysis and submit its report in a sealed cover.
Directing that no part of the material be excluded, the Bench says the entire 48-minute conversation, admitted voice recordings of the former chief minister and all audio clips furnished by the petitioner should be forwarded to the NFSU for examination.
The issue arose after the NFSU, in November last year, informed the apex court that the audio clips sent to it earlier showed signs of tampering and were not suitable for scientific voice comparison. The forensic laboratory had stated it was unable to offer any opinion on whether the voices matched.
KOHUR has challenged that conclusion, arguing that Manipur police had forwarded only selective and edited portions of the audio for forensic analysis instead of the full recording that was placed before the Court.
Senior counsel Prashant Bhushan, appearing for KOHUR, told the Bench that the matter had come up before the Court around ten times and that government counsel had been present on every occasion. He says the petition itself included a transcript of the entire 48-minute conversation and that the audio recording had also been provided.
Mr Bhushan argued that the authorities are fully aware of the existence of the complete recording and could have sought it from KOHUR if they believed it had not been formally served. When the Bench asked why the audio was not directly provided to the respondents, the senior counsel said there had been no formal notice requiring them to do so.
Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Union government and the state, told the Court that the full 48-minute recording had been received only after the last hearing in December. She says the clip had not been shared earlier despite repeated efforts to obtain it.
The Bench questioned the government on why the entire recording had not been sent to the forensic laboratory earlier, particularly when allegations had been raised that only select clippings were examined. The Court noted that during the previous hearing, it had expressed concern over an affidavit suggesting that incomplete material was forwarded for forensic testing.
During earlier proceedings, Mr Bhushan had informed the Court that the total audio recordings are around 56 minutes long, of which 48 minutes had been filed before the Court. He says the remaining portion revealed the identity of the whistle-blower and could not be disclosed, as it could pose a serious threat to the individual’s safety.
Taking note of the submissions from both sides, the Court directed KOHUR to provide the complete audio recording to the government and instructed the government to forward it without delay to the NFSU for forensic examination.
The petition filed by KOHUR seeks the constitution of an independent special investigation team (SIT) to probe the contents of the leaked audio clip which allegedly points to the role of the former chief minister in the handling of the ethnic violence that erupted in Manipur in 2023.
The Supreme Court said further action would be considered after the forensic report is submitted.
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