CBI failed to comply to the SC orders yet again

New Delhi / 27 July 2018

EEVFAM case was heard in court number 3 of the Supreme Court of India today afternoon.

CBI was supposed to file the Final Report of the four cases that they claimed to have completed investigations as per the last order of 5 July. The victims of these four cases are as follows:

1. Md. Zamir Khan
2. Md. Ishaque and Md. Mustikin
3. Longjam Dhamen
4. Thokchom Ranjit

But the CBI failed to comply to the SC order yet again and soughed four more week’s time to do so. According to the Solicitor General, who is also the CBI counsel, the field investigations of three more cases have also been completed.

So till now investigation in seven cases is completed. But as per the CBI Manual these cases needs to be scrutinized at various levels of CBI. After due scrutiny the CBI director has finally given approval to the filing of two cases. For the rest of the case the scrutiny is going on. He assured that, by the end of August, they might be able to file seven cases.

The Judges got furious, as this has become a clear pattern of delaying tactics and consistent non-compliance of their orders. The CBI director has been summoned to the Court on Monday 30 July 2018 at 2.00 PM.

On behalf of the petitioners Colin Gonsalves persuaded the court to look at the larger picture of how the case started with 1528 and gradually dwindled to 655, to 41, to 4, and eventually to 0 over the years. Even though the Court has specifically ordered in January that in all the cases FIR should be registered, only 27 FIRs have been filed till date.

Enough time has been wasted hoping that the CBI will deliver justice. Time and time again they have failed to comply with the orders of the Court and bluntly told the Court that they cannot do so. He pointed out that this is not an ordinary delay, but it is clearly a design approved by the highest authority.

For the end of justice he pleaded that the present CBI/SIT should be dismantled and the Court should appoint officers of the Court’s choice from across the country and constitute an independent SIT to carry out the task. The Court sough the opinion of the Amicus on the proposal mooted by the petitioners. The Amicus agreed to give her opinion on the hearing on Monday.

CBI and the Government of Manipur has also filed separate reply affidavits to the Criminal Miscellaneous Petition no. 1018 of 2018 where Head Constable Herojit had sought permission to make full disclosure of the July 23 incident and also demanded the CBI to produced the diaries seized from him where he recorded the details of the fake encounters he was witness to.

But the matter was not discussed in the court today as the lack of tangible progress in the CBI investigation consumed all the Court’s time.

Yours sincerely,

(Babloo Loitongbam)
Executive Director
Human Rights Alert
Kwakeithel Thiyam Leikai
Imphal – 795001, Manipur, India