BJP's Khemchand Singh sworn in as Manipur CM; 2 deputies from Kuki, Naga communities
Imphal (PTI): BJP MLA Yumnam Khemchand Singh on Wednesday became the 13th Chief Minister of Manipur, nearly a year after the resignation of BJP leader N Biren Singh following months of ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki communities in the state, leading to the imposition of President's Rule.
The 62-year-old leader was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla at a ceremony held at the Lok Bhavan, hours after the President's rule was revoked in the violence-hit Manipur.
BJP MLA Nemcha Kipgen, who belongs to the Kuki community, and Naga People's Front legislator L Dikho took oath as the deputy chief ministers of Manipur.
The formation of the new government comes at a time when the strife-torn state is trying to move forward towards normalcy.
Congratulating Khemchand Singh and his two deputies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "I am confident they will work diligently towards furthering development and prosperity for my sisters and brothers of Manipur."
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic violence since May 3, 2023, after a tribal solidarity march was taken out in the hill districts, in protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Since then, at least 260 people, including members of both the Kuki and Meitei communities as well as security personnel, have been killed in the violence, while thousands become homeless.
Talking to reporters at the Lok Bhavan soon after taking oath, Khemchand Singh said Manipur comprises 36 communities and that the state was taken care of for long by them.
"Our hope now is for all to help in bringing a peaceful atmosphere. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have placed great faith in me, and I want to take that faith forward," the two-time BJP legislator said.
Khemchand Singh is a long-time RSS functionary and an organisation-focused leader who has held key constitutional and ministerial positions in the state.
Apart from politics, he has had a long association with Taekwondo. A black belt holder, he is a former vice-president of the Taekwondo Federation of India and has been involved in the promotion of the sport in the Northeast.
Deputy CM L Dikho told reporters that inclusiveness is the new mantra of the government.
Asked whether action would be taken against armed groups that have issued threats to Kuki legislators participating in government formation, Dikho replied, "Why not?”
The BJP's Govindas Konthoujam and K Loken Singh of NPP were sworn in as ministers. Kipgen took the oath virtually from Manipur Bhavan in New Delhi.
BJP Manipur spokesperson Laimayum Bashanta Sharma said the formation of a new government will pave the way for peace, normalcy and development in the state.
"The formation of a new government will pave the way for peace, normalcy and development in the state once more. We have known the chief minister for such a long time. He is very much in touch with leaders of different communities,” he told PTI.
The restoration of a popular government also says that the Centre knows what is best for Manipur, Sharma told PTI.
A Manipur University professor said, "I just wanted Nemcha Kipgen to come to Imphal. There is no threat to any community in the Imphal valley. Her oath-taking should not have been done virtually from New Delhi. It shows that there is a certain lack of will on the part of the Centre to enforce unity in the state."
During the President's Rule, the state witnessed a decline in gun-firing incidents between the two warring groups. Security forces launched widespread operations in the hills and valley districts of the state against armed miscreants and militants, leading to the arrest of over 1000 of them and recovering more than 3000 arms.
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High courts upheld only 8 per cent of death sentences; SC confirms none in recent years: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Highlighting that a high acquittal rate of death row convicts by the Supreme Court and high courts demonstrates a pattern of "erroneous or unjustified convictions", a study of 10 years of death penalty data has revealed that the top court did not confirm any death sentences in recent years.
The study by Square Circle Clinic, a criminal laws advocacy group with the NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, found that an overwhelming majority of death sentences imposed by trial courts did not withstand scrutiny at higher judicial levels. Acquittals far outnumbered confirmations at both the high courts and Supreme Court levels.
According to the report, the trial courts across India awarded 1,310 death sentences in 822 cases between 2016 and 2025. High courts considered 842 of these sentences in confirmation proceedings but upheld only 70 or 8.31 per cent.
In contrast, 258 death sentences (30.64 per cent) resulted in acquittals. The study noted that the acquittal rate at the high court level was nearly four times the confirmation rate.
Data showed that of the 70 death sentences confirmed by high courts, the Supreme Court decided 38 and did not uphold a single one. The apex court has confirmed no death sentences between 2023 and 2025.
"Wrongful or erroneous or unjustified convictions, then, are not random or freak accidents in the Indian criminal justice system. The data indicates they are a persistent and serious systemic concern," the report said.
Over the last decade, high courts adjudicated 1,085 death sentences in 647 cases, confirming only 106 (9.77 per cent). During this period, 326 persons in 191 cases, were acquitted.
The report attributed low confirmation rates to the appellate judiciary’s concerns regarding failures in due process. "This coincides with increased Supreme Court scrutiny of safeguards at the sentencing stage," the report said.
Of the 153 death sentences decided by the apex court over the last decade, the accused were acquitted in 38 cases. In 2025 alone, high courts overturned death sentences into acquittals in 22 out of 85 cases (over 25 per cent). The same year, Supreme Court acquitted accused persons in more than half of the death penalty cases it decided (10 out of 19), the report said.
The study highlighted that 364 persons who were ultimately acquitted "should not even have been convicted and unjustifiably suffered the trauma of death row". It added that such failures extend beyond adjudication and reflect serious lapses in investigation and prosecution.
The question of remedies for wrongful convictions remains pending before the Supreme Court. In September 2025, three persons acquitted by the apex court filed writ petitions seeking compensation from the state and argued that their wrongful convictions violated their fundamental right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"In 2022, the Supreme Court crystallised a sentencing process in Manoj v. State of Madhya Pradesh , and mandated all courts to follow those guidelines before imposing or confirming a death sentence," the report read.
In 2025, the apex court held in Vasanta Sampat Dupare v. Union of India that death penalty sentencing hearings form part of the right to a fair trial and stressed that capital punishment can be imposed only after a constitutionally compliant sentencing process.
"However, even at the high courts whether the process mandated under Manoj is being complied with is in doubt,” the report said.
