New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed a comprehensive forensic examination of a controversial 48-minute audio recording allegedly implicating former Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh in the 2023 ethnic violence, ordering the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, to analyse the full audio along with Singh’s admitted voice samples.
A bench of the apex court ordered that the entire 48-minute conversation, along with admitted voice recordings of the former chief minister and all other audio materials submitted by the petitioner, be forwarded to the NFSU for examination, with the forensic report to be submitted in a sealed cover.
“The entire 48 minutes of the conversation in question along with the admitted voice recordings of the former Manipur CM are available… All the voice recordings furnished to the respondents by the learned counsel for the petitioner shall also be included therewith and forwarded to the National Forensic Science University, Gandhinagar,” the bench said.
The case, listed nearly ten times earlier, gathered renewed traction after senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights (KOHUR) Trust, submitted the complete transcript of the audio recording. The Manipur government, represented by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, had only recently received the full recording.
The fresh forensic direction follows controversy over an earlier NFSU report that had given Singh a clean chit, stating that the audio clips were tampered with. In December, the Supreme Court expressed concern that only selective portions of the recording were examined instead of the entire conversation.
The petition alleges that Singh played a key role in the ethnic violence targeting the Kuki-Zo community. Bhushan told the court that the recorded conversation points to the involvement of state machinery in the clashes, which have claimed over 260 lives and displaced thousands since May 2023.
The violence broke out after a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was held to protest the Manipur High Court’s order supporting the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Singh resigned as chief minister in February 2024 amid mounting political pressure and has been accused by KOHUR of orchestrating violence in Kuki-dominated areas. (Agencies)
