Patra meets BJP leaders amid demand for Prez rule removal

The Supreme Court on Monday questioned the credibility of a forensic report on the authenticity of leaked audio tapes that allegedly point to the role of former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh in the ethnic violence in the northeastern state, and directed the Centre to submit a fresh report.

- Ayesha Arvind

NEW DELHI:

A bench headed by chief justice of India Sanjiv Khanna issued the directions after opening the sealed cover report of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory submitted by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Monday. The court asked the law officer to seek instructions from the Centre on getting the Central FSL to re-examine the audio tapes. "The solicitor general to take fresh instructions on filing a fresh report after re-examination. Let it be relisted in the week commencing July 21, 2025," the bench, also comprising justice Sanjay Kumar, said after perusing the report.

As solicitor general Mehta said he had not personally examined the contents of the report and hence, cannot comment on it, the court said neither the judiciary nor the Centre was expected to "protect anyone." The top court was hearing a petition filed by Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), seeking a court-monitored probe into the audio tapes, alleging they reveal evidence of the then chief minister's involvement in fuelling the ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur.