The Evening Wrap: Supreme Court shifts 27 CBI cases in Manipur to Assam

The Supreme Court on Friday asked Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta to nominate one or more judicial officers in Assam to take charge of the pre-trial processes in 27 cases related to the ethnic violence in Manipur, including crimes committed against women and children, which were transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud passed the order on an application filed by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the investigating agency. Mehta indicated that judicial officers may belong to one tribal community or the other, and pre-trial hearings may cause a furore or an apprehension of bias in a State which was still restive after months of ethnic violence. Mehta said Assam was chosen in consultation with the CBI because the two States shared a common border. Easy connectivity between Assam and Manipur was also a bonus. Petitioners, including victims represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, raised objections. They said the pre-trial processes could be carried out either in Manipur or some other nearby State. They asked why Assam, which is ruled by a BJP government just like Manipur, was considered as a choice of venue. The Chief Justice responded that the Supreme Court was not asking the Assam government, but the Gauhati Chief Justice, to nominate the pre-trial judges. “There have been victims in the valleys of Manipur and there have been victims in the hills of Manipur. People belonging to community A have suffered, people belonging to community B have suffered… We are not on who suffered more… We are concerned about fair trial… We are today at an anterior stage. There are some immediate things to be done like production of accused, judicial remands, extension of remands, recording the statements of victims and witnesses, etc. These things have to be done immediately…” Chief Justice Chandrachud explained. “When the actual trial starts, we will review this order. At that stage, if we find that Manipur has returned to normalcy, we will bring the cases back to be tried in Manipur. We can do that under Article 142 of the Constitution… What we are doing now is only for the present moment,” Chief Justice Chandrachud assured the victims’ side. Issuing a series of directions for the conduct of the pre-trial processes while taking into consideration “the overall environment in Manipur and the fairness of criminal justice process”, the Supreme Court ordered that applications for producing the accused before the judge, judicial remand, extension of custody and other proceedings in connection with the investigation would be heard online by the designated Gauhati courts, considering the security and distances involved. Even applications for arrest warrants should be made online, said the court. However, judicial custody of accused persons would be permitted in Manipur in order to obviate transportation of detainees. The Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court was asked to nominate local magistrates in the State to record the sworn statements of witnesses and survivors still residing in Manipur. The restatements could be recorded online, the apex court ordered. \Victims or witnesses living outside Manipur were allowed to connect online with the designated Gauhati courts and record their statements. However, those who wanted to come in person to Gauhati to testify, were free to do so, the apex court clarified. Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioners, said many of the victims had fled the State. “We are not asking the victims or survivors to travel to Assam to record their statements. All they have to do is testify from the nearest possible place. Besides, the statements can be recorded online… The Solicitor General has assured solid internet connectivity for the nominated Magistrates in Manipur,” Chief Justice Chandrachud told the petitioners. The Bench requested the Gauhati Chief Justice to nominate, as far as possible, judicial officers conversant with the languages used in Manipur. Pragyaan rover traverses 8 metres on lunar surface, its payloads turned on ISRO on August 25 said the Chandrayaan-3 rover, ‘Pragyaan’, has successfully traversed a distance of about eight metres and its payloads have been turned on. “All planned rover movements have been verified. The rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 8 metres. Rover payloads LIBS and APXS are turned on,” the space agency said in a post on X. “All payloads on the propulsion module, lander module, and rover are performing nominally,” it added. The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) is aiming at deriving the chemical composition and infer the mineralogical composition of the lunar surface. The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will attempt to determine the elemental composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site. ISRO on August 24 said the Lander payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE were turned on. ILSA will measure seismic activity around the landing site and RAMBHA will study the plasma environment around the Moon. Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) will measure surface thermal properties of the Moon. India on August 23 scripted history as its third unmanned Moon mission’s lander module made a flawless soft-landing, making it only the fourth country to achieve this feat, and the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s only natural satellite. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Decoding Praggnanandhaa’s world-beating run to the Chess World Cup final 18-year-old chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa has finished as runner-up in the FIDE Chess World Cup held at Baku, Azerbaijan. He held world No 1 Magnus Carlsen to two consecutive draws in classical chess. The match then went to a tie-break, where Carlsen won 1.5-0.5. This is the first time since V Anand that an Indian has reached the final of the Chess World Cup, and Praggnanandhaa is the third youngest player to achieve this feat. What does this achievement mean for India? How do we rate his performance in this tournament? What is it that separates Carlsen from the rest of the field? PM Modi ‘lied’ on Chinese incursion into India’s land in Ladakh: Rahul Gandhi Wrapping up his week-long bike tour of Ladakh, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying about China’s incursion into Indian territory in Ladakh and alleged the BJP was handing over the region’s land to the Adani Group. “Ladakh is a strategic place. I went to different pockets of the region on a bike. At the Pangong Tso lake, one thing was clear, China has taken away thousands of kilometres of India’s land. Every local in Ladakh knows about it. The sad part is that the PM during the Opposition meet said not a single inch of land was taken. The PM was not telling us the truth,” Gandhi said during his public address in Kargil. The latest salvo from Gandhi comes after a series of attacks on PM Modi in the past two years over Chinese incursions into Ladakh. In 2022, he accused the Prime Minister of giving away 1,000 square kilometres of territory to China, “without a fight”. Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on the BJP and alleged it was “eyeing the land of Ladakh”. “The BJP knows and understands about the natural resources of Ladakh, especially the potential of solar energy. If people of Ladakh are given representation, they [the BJP] cannot snatch the land from you. The BJP wants to take away your land and allow Adani to set up projects,” Gandhi said. Ladakh was carved out as a U.T. without an Assembly in 2019. Gandhi extended the Congress’ support to the demands of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, which are fighting for the U.T.’s inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, a separate Public Service Commission, reservation of jobs for locals and two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil. “We will not allow Adani to set up projects on your land. The Congress extends its support to the demands made by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, especially to protect land, jobs, culture, and language,” Gandhi said. Gandhi said during the conversation with locals, he realised that Ladakh has become an epicentre of unemployment. “This tour taught me that local representation, political voice, and local leaders are being suppressed. Ladakh became a U.T. but people’s rights were not granted. Employment promises made by the BJP turned out to be false. The demands of communication coverage and air services are yet to be met,” Gandhi said. Squatters cannot claim right to public space, says Supreme Court The Supreme Court on August 25 refused to extend its interim stay order against a demolition drive against trespassers and encroachments on railway land at Nai Basti near Krishnajanmasthan at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh. A Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi said squatters cannot claim the right to squat on public land. At best, they can seek time to vacate the public land and apply for rehabilitation. “You can have some time to vacate a public place, but not claim a right to squat there. State can consider you for any rehabilitation project. That is the law. That is what this court said in its judgment in the Olga Tellis case,” Justice Bose addressed senior advocate P.C. Sen and advocate Kaushik Choudhury, appearing for petitioner, Yakub Shah. The Centre, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, said the demolition of the encroached parts was any way over and the petition had become infructuous. Mehta said the petitioner had come to court with unclean hands. In a 44-page affidavit, the Centre accused Shah of being a “meddlesome interloper” who had alleged in his public interest petition that the railway demolition drive did not follow due process. The government said Shah had linked the eviction drive to a “disputed religious premises” in order to give the issue a “communal overtone”. The Centre said Shah used sensational assertions to produce instantaneous outrage while “deliberately and wilfully” suppressing that his property was not affected by the eviction drive undertaken by the railways under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. Justice Bose said the court would consider imposing costs on Shah, but gave him time till Monday to file a rejoinder. Sen said his client’s property was indeed affected. He was not a squatter. The demolition drive had triggered “untold human misery”. He submitted that there was no proof that the disputed land belonged to the railway. The Centre, in its affidavit, however said the land in question fell on the side of the Mathura-Vrindavan rail track, which was a “pre-independence era metre gauge track”. The government submitted that Mathura-Vrindavan was an important pilgrim centre with high foot fall. The absence of a broad gauge track compelled pilgrims to change trains at the Mathura junction. There is an increased demand for direct trains. “The railways had undertaken the major project of converting this independent era matere gauge to broad gauge to run high speed or express trains on the route,” the affidavit said. It said the project began in June last year. The removal of 135 encroachments were ordered in December 2022. Land plans verified by Tehsildar had proved that the north central railway land was the lawful owner of the encroached land. The encroachers were given due notice under the 1971 Act to vacate the land in 21 days. The eviction proceedings had gone on from April to July 2023. The affidavit said the encroachers had been given sufficient time to produce evidence of their title. Notice of the demolition was also published in two newspapers. In Brief: Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend New Delhi G20 summit Russian President Vladimir Putin will not participate in the G20 leaders’ summit to be held here during September 9-10, the Press Secretary to the Russian President Dmitry Peskov has informed the Russian media. Friday’s announcement is in line with other recent international summits held after the beginning of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, where Putin has remained absent. He was earlier expected to travel to Turkey at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the latest announcement has cast a shadow on this expected visit as well. “Putin is not planning a trip to the G20 summit in India, which will be held in September. The main emphasis now is the special military operation [in Ukraine],” Peskov said in an interaction with the Russian media. Life convicts Amarmani Tripathi, wife released after 16 years in UP jail Former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, serving life terms in the Madhumita Shukla murder case, were released on August 25, officials said. The Uttar Pradesh prisons department on Thursday issued an order for the premature release of Amarmani Tripathi and his wife, citing the State’s 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment. The Supreme Court on August 25 refused to stay their release. The couple was currently admitted in the BRDMedical College in Gorakhpur. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 25 August 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Manipur violence: Supreme Court shifts 27 CBI cases, including crimes against women, to Assam The [Supreme Court on Friday asked Gauhati High Court Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta to nominate one or more judicial officers in Assam to take charge of the pre-trial processes in 27 cases related to the ethnic violence in Manipur]( including crimes committed against women and children, which were transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud passed the order on an application filed by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the investigating agency. Mehta indicated that judicial officers may belong to one tribal community or the other, and pre-trial hearings may cause a furore or an apprehension of bias in a State which was still restive after months of ethnic violence. Mehta said Assam was chosen in consultation with the CBI because the two States shared a common border. Easy connectivity between Assam and Manipur was also a bonus. Petitioners, including victims represented by senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, raised objections. They said the pre-trial processes could be carried out either in Manipur or some other nearby State. They asked why Assam, which is ruled by a BJP government just like Manipur, was considered as a choice of venue. The Chief Justice responded that the Supreme Court was not asking the Assam government, but the Gauhati Chief Justice, to nominate the pre-trial judges. “There have been victims in the valleys of Manipur and there have been victims in the hills of Manipur. People belonging to community A have suffered, people belonging to community B have suffered… We are not on who suffered more… We are concerned about fair trial… We are today at an anterior stage. There are some immediate things to be done like production of accused, judicial remands, extension of remands, recording the statements of victims and witnesses, etc. These things have to be done immediately…” Chief Justice Chandrachud explained. “When the actual trial starts, we will review this order. At that stage, if we find that Manipur has returned to normalcy, we will bring the cases back to be tried in Manipur. We can do that under Article 142 of the Constitution… What we are doing now is only for the present moment,” Chief Justice Chandrachud assured the victims’ side. Issuing a series of directions for the conduct of the pre-trial processes while taking into consideration “the overall environment in Manipur and the fairness of criminal justice process”, the Supreme Court ordered that applications for producing the accused before the judge, judicial remand, extension of custody and other proceedings in connection with the investigation would be heard online by the designated Gauhati courts, considering the security and distances involved. Even applications for arrest warrants should be made online, said the court. However, judicial custody of accused persons would be permitted in Manipur in order to obviate transportation of detainees. The Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court was asked to nominate local magistrates in the State to record the sworn statements of witnesses and survivors still residing in Manipur. The restatements could be recorded online, the apex court ordered. \Victims or witnesses living outside Manipur were allowed to connect online with the designated Gauhati courts and record their statements. However, those who wanted to come in person to Gauhati to testify, were free to do so, the apex court clarified. Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the petitioners, said many of the victims had fled the State. “We are not asking the victims or survivors to travel to Assam to record their statements. All they have to do is testify from the nearest possible place. Besides, the statements can be recorded online… The Solicitor General has assured solid internet connectivity for the nominated Magistrates in Manipur,” Chief Justice Chandrachud told the petitioners. The Bench requested the Gauhati Chief Justice to nominate, as far as possible, judicial officers conversant with the languages used in Manipur. Pragyaan rover traverses 8 metres on lunar surface, its payloads turned on ISRO on August 25 said the Chandrayaan-3 rover, [‘Pragyaan’, has successfully traversed a distance of about eight metres]( its payloads have been turned on. “All planned rover movements have been verified. The rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 8 metres. Rover payloads LIBS and APXS are turned on,” the space agency said in a post on X. “All payloads on the propulsion module, lander module, and rover are performing nominally,” it added. The Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) is aiming at deriving the chemical composition and infer the mineralogical composition of the lunar surface. The Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS) will attempt to determine the elemental composition (Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Fe) of lunar soil and rocks around the lunar landing site. ISRO on August 24 said the Lander payloads ILSA, RAMBHA and ChaSTE were turned on. ILSA will measure seismic activity around the landing site and RAMBHA will study the plasma environment around the Moon. Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE) will measure surface thermal properties of the Moon. India on August 23 scripted history as its third unmanned Moon mission’s lander module made a flawless soft-landing, making it only the fourth country to achieve this feat, and the first to reach the uncharted south pole of Earth’s only natural satellite. Listen to today’s episode of the In Focus podcast Decoding Praggnanandhaa’s world-beating run to the Chess World Cup final [18-year-old chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa has finished as runner-up in the FIDE Chess World Cup]( held at Baku, Azerbaijan. He held world No 1 Magnus Carlsen to two consecutive draws in classical chess. The match then went to a tie-break, where Carlsen won 1.5-0.5. This is the first time since V Anand that an Indian has reached the final of the Chess World Cup, and Praggnanandhaa is the third youngest player to achieve this feat. What does this achievement mean for India? How do we rate his performance in this tournament? What is it that separates Carlsen from the rest of the field? PM Modi ‘lied’ on Chinese incursion into India’s land in Ladakh: Rahul Gandhi Wrapping up his week-long bike tour of Ladakh, Congress leader [Rahul Gandhi on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of lying about China’s incursion into Indian territory in Ladakh]( and alleged the BJP was handing over the region’s land to the Adani Group. “Ladakh is a strategic place. I went to different pockets of the region on a bike. At the Pangong Tso lake, one thing was clear, China has taken away thousands of kilometres of India’s land. Every local in Ladakh knows about it. The sad part is that the PM during the Opposition meet said not a single inch of land was taken. The PM was not telling us the truth,” Gandhi said during his public address in Kargil. The latest salvo from Gandhi comes after a series of attacks on PM Modi in the past two years over Chinese incursions into Ladakh. In 2022, he accused the Prime Minister of giving away 1,000 square kilometres of territory to China, “without a fight”. Gandhi also launched a scathing attack on the BJP and alleged it was “eyeing the land of Ladakh”. “The BJP knows and understands about the natural resources of Ladakh, especially the potential of solar energy. If people of Ladakh are given representation, they [the BJP] cannot snatch the land from you. The BJP wants to take away your land and allow Adani to set up projects,” Gandhi said. Ladakh was carved out as a U.T. without an Assembly in 2019. Gandhi extended the Congress’ support to the demands of the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, which are fighting for the U.T.’s inclusion under the Sixth Schedule, a separate Public Service Commission, reservation of jobs for locals and two separate parliamentary constituencies for Leh and Kargil. “We will not allow Adani to set up projects on your land. The Congress extends its support to the demands made by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, especially to protect land, jobs, culture, and language,” Gandhi said. Gandhi said during the conversation with locals, he realised that Ladakh has become an epicentre of unemployment. “This tour taught me that local representation, political voice, and local leaders are being suppressed. Ladakh became a U.T. but people’s rights were not granted. Employment promises made by the BJP turned out to be false. The demands of communication coverage and air services are yet to be met,” Gandhi said. Squatters cannot claim right to public space, says Supreme Court The [Supreme Court on August 25 refused to extend its interim stay order against a demolition drive against trespassers and encroachments on railway land at Nai Basti near Krishnajanmasthan at Mathura]( in Uttar Pradesh. A Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi said squatters cannot claim the right to squat on public land. At best, they can seek time to vacate the public land and apply for rehabilitation. “You can have some time to vacate a public place, but not claim a right to squat there. State can consider you for any rehabilitation project. That is the law. That is what this court said in its judgment in the Olga Tellis case,” Justice Bose addressed senior advocate P.C. Sen and advocate Kaushik Choudhury, appearing for petitioner, Yakub Shah. The Centre, represented by Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta, said the demolition of the encroached parts was any way over and the petition had become infructuous. Mehta said the petitioner had come to court with unclean hands. In a 44-page affidavit, the Centre accused Shah of being a “meddlesome interloper” who had alleged in his public interest petition that the railway demolition drive did not follow due process. The government said Shah had linked the eviction drive to a “disputed religious premises” in order to give the issue a “communal overtone”. The Centre said Shah used sensational assertions to produce instantaneous outrage while “deliberately and wilfully” suppressing that his property was not affected by the eviction drive undertaken by the railways under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. Justice Bose said the court would consider imposing costs on Shah, but gave him time till Monday to file a rejoinder. Sen said his client’s property was indeed affected. He was not a squatter. The demolition drive had triggered “untold human misery”. He submitted that there was no proof that the disputed land belonged to the railway. The Centre, in its affidavit, however said the land in question fell on the side of the Mathura-Vrindavan rail track, which was a “pre-independence era metre gauge track”. The government submitted that Mathura-Vrindavan was an important pilgrim centre with high foot fall. The absence of a broad gauge track compelled pilgrims to change trains at the Mathura junction. There is an increased demand for direct trains. “The railways had undertaken the major project of converting this independent era matere gauge to broad gauge to run high speed or express trains on the route,” the affidavit said. It said the project began in June last year. The removal of 135 encroachments were ordered in December 2022. Land plans verified by Tehsildar had proved that the north central railway land was the lawful owner of the encroached land. The encroachers were given due notice under the 1971 Act to vacate the land in 21 days. The eviction proceedings had gone on from April to July 2023. The affidavit said the encroachers had been given sufficient time to produce evidence of their title. Notice of the demolition was also published in two newspapers. In Brief: Russian President Vladimir Putin not to attend New Delhi G20 summit Russian President [Vladimir Putin will not participate in the G20 leaders’ summit]( to be held here during September 9-10, the Press Secretary to the Russian President Dmitry Peskov has informed the Russian media. Friday’s announcement is in line with other recent international summits held after the beginning of the Ukraine crisis in February 2022, where Putin has remained absent. He was earlier expected to travel to Turkey at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the latest announcement has cast a shadow on this expected visit as well. “Putin is not planning a trip to the G20 summit in India, which will be held in September. The main emphasis now is the special military operation [in Ukraine],” Peskov said in an interaction with the Russian media. Life convicts Amarmani Tripathi, wife released after 16 years in UP jail [Former Uttar Pradesh minister Amarmani Tripathi and his wife Madhumani, serving life terms in the Madhumita Shukla murder case, were released on August 25]( officials said. The Uttar Pradesh prisons department on Thursday issued an order for the premature release of Amarmani Tripathi and his wife, citing the State’s 2018 policy on remission, since they have completed 16 years of imprisonment. The Supreme Court on August 25 refused to stay their release. The couple was currently admitted in the BRDMedical College in Gorakhpur. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[A 28-ft. Nataraja bronze sculpture, from T.N.’s Swamimalai, to grace G20 summit venue in New Delhi] A 28-ft. Nataraja bronze sculpture, from T.N.’s Swamimalai, to grace G20 summit venue in New Delhi]( [[Vital Signs Ep 3 | Does NEET’s curriculum serve only as entry filter or does it offer more? | Data Point podcast] Vital Signs Ep 3 | Does NEET’s curriculum serve only as entry filter or does it offer more? | Data Point podcast]( [[SHOOTING | Indian women bag free pistol gold in World Championship] SHOOTING | Indian women bag free pistol gold in World Championship]( [[The story keepers of Bhutan] The story keepers of Bhutan]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](