The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the transfer of eight criminal cases pending before the Special NIA Court in Imphal district of Manipur to the Special NIA Court in Guwahati, Assam, on a prayer made by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan allowed the transfer petition, filed by NIA filed under Section 13(2) of the NIA Act, 2008 and Section 406 CrPC, 1973, after considering the grounds given by the national agency that the situation in Manipur was not conducive for conducting a free and fair trial.
The eight criminal matters, unrelated to each other, were filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. They were initially investigated by the Manipur Police and subsequently transferred to NIA.
The Bench recorded in its order that the transfer plea was filed at the instance of the NIA (MHA), praying for the transfer of eight cases from the NIA, Special Court in Imphal, State of Manipur to NIA Special Court in Guwahati, Assam.
The bench passed the order after listening to arguments made by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing NIA, and the Counsel appearing for the accused in the eight cases.
The Apex Court further took note of the fact that on August 25, 2023, it had ordered the transfer of 27 CBI cases from the State of Manipur to Assam, on the basis of the situation prevailing in Manipur.
Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared on behalf of different respondents. While Gonsalves prayed that the trial may be transferred to Delhi, Advocate Siddhartha Borgohain requested that the cases be transferred to Mizoram or Meghalaya, as Manipur only had one NIA Court.
However, the Bench noted that the trials would have to be transferred to one State only.
Advocate Ahanthem Henry, representing respondent 13, apprised the Apex Court that the accused, a carpenter belonging to the Kuki community, was not in custody, but out on bail. The Counsel said it was not feasible to transfer the cases from Manipur to Guwahati as the air ticket was expensive, while the roads were all blocked by militants. He said the accused would not be able to afford it.
The top court of the country said that it would be NIA’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the accused.
The Court then granted liberty to such accused, who were out on bail and had difficulty in travelling from Manipur to Assam, to join the proceedings through video conferencing.