The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on the Manipur government for not doing enough to protect women, who were subjected to several atrocities during ethnic violence in the state for about three months.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, while observing that subjecting women to sexual crimes and violence was completely unacceptable, said that it constituted a grave violation of the constitutional values of dignity, personal liberty and autonomy, all of which were protected as core fundamental rights under Part III of the Constitution.
Observing that such visceral violence against women during conflict was nothing but an atrocity, the top court of the country said that it was the bounden duty of the state to prevent people from committing such reprehensible violence and to protect the target victims of such acts.
The Apex Court further said that mobs usually resorted to violence against women for multiple reasons, including the fact that they may escape punishment for their crimes if they were a member of a larger group.
During a sectarian violence, mobs use sexual violence to send a message of subordination to the community, it added.
The Apex Court then mentioned the committee it constituted on August 7 to probe the incidents of ethnic violence in the state, comprising three former High Court women judges.
The committee was directed to enquire into the nature of violence against women that occurred in the state of Manipur from May 4 from all available sources, including personal meetings with survivors, members of the families of survivors, local/community representatives, authorities in charge of relief camps and the FIRs lodged as well as media reports.
It was asked to submit a report on steps required to meet the needs of the survivors, including measures for dealing with rape trauma; providing social, economic and psychological support, along with relief and rehabilitation in a time-bound manner;
The committee was told to ensure that free comprehensive medical aid and psychological care was provided to the victims and survivors of violence for their restitution, along with compensation.
The Bench asked the committee to ensure conditions of dignity in relief camps set up for the displaced persons and suggestions for additional camps.
The committee members were asked to issue directions for the appointment of nodal officers at relief camps and the provision of toll-free helplines to provide updates on any investigation, missing persons and the recovery of dead bodies.
The nodal officers must also ensure that they maintain a database of all persons who were housed in their respective relief camps, added the Apex Court.
Earlier on August 7, the Bench had set up a committee to probe the incidences of ethnic violence in Manipur after observing that it was necessary to ‘restore’ people’s faith in the rule of law and to build a ‘sense of confidence’ among them.
Headed by Justice Gita Mittal (former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court), the Committee consisted of Justice Shalini Phansalar Joshi (former Bombay High Court judge) and Justice Asha Menon (former Delhi High Court judge).
The Supreme Court directed the broad-based committee to look at the ‘diverse aspects’ on ‘humanitarian’ grounds such as relief, remedial and rehabilitation measures, along with restoration of homes and places of worship.