Imphal, Aug 25: The Supreme Court said on Friday that trials in the cases that were transferred to the CBI will take place in Guwahati and asked that the Chief Justice of Guwahati High Court nominate judges who are conversant with one or more languages spoken in Manipur.
It said there have been victims in the valleys and hills of Manipur. It said that “it would be difficult for people who suffered in valleys to travel to hills, and the other way around. We can’t go into who suffered more; there are victims in both communities.”
The Supreme Court also ordered that all applications for the production of accused, remand, judicial custody, extension of custody, and other proceedings are allowed to be conducted online, bearing in mind both distance and security issues at the courts in Manipur.
It furtehr ordered that judicial custody be permitted in Manipur. The Supreme Court orders that the statements of witnesses under 164 CrPC are to be recorded in the presence of the local magistrate in Manipur.
The Supreme Court also directed the Acting Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court to designate one or more magistrates to record the statements of witnesses. The SC further says that the test identification parades are to be done through video conferencing in the presence of a Manipur-based magistrate. The applications seeking search and arrest warrants will be issued by the investigating officer online, the court said.
