Manipur violence: SC orders forensic examination of entire 48-minute audio clip
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered forensic examination of the entire 48-minute audio recording which a plea has alleged that the leaked clip points to the role of former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh in the 2023 ethnic violence.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran said that the entire available leaked audio be forwarded to the National Forensic Science University (NFSU), Gandhinagar, for forensic examination.
“The entire 48 minutes of the conversation in question along with the admitted voice recordings of the former Manipur CM are available... All the voice recordings furnished to the respondents by the learned counsel for the petitioner shall also be included therewith and forwarded to the National Forensic Science University Gandhinagar,” the bench ordered.
It also asked the NFSU to expedite the process and submit final report in a sealed cover.
During brief proceedings, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust, said the matter had been listed around 10 times.
He submitted that the petition itself contained the transcript of the full 48-minute conversation and that the audio had been supplied.
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Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Manipur government, said that the state received the full recording only after the last hearing.
On December 15 last year, the bench questioned why the entire available leaked audio clips were not sent for forensic examination.
The top court had said it was "little disturbed" by the affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioners on November 20, 2025 that "states to the effect that only select clippings were sent".
The NFSU had virtually given a clean chit, saying the leaked audio clips were "tampered with".
Singh resigned as the chief minister of Manipur on February 9 last year, amid rumblings within the state BJP and growing demands for a change in leadership.
The apex court was hearing the petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has sought an independent SIT probe into the matter.
On November 3, the apex court noted that the NFSU had said that the leaked audio clips were "tampered with".
According to the NFSU's report, the audio clips exhibited signs of editing and tampering and were not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison, the court had said.
Bhushan had referred to a separate forensic report and said it had found that one of the recordings was unedited.
On May 5 last year, the apex court examined a forensic report on the authenticity of the leaked audio clips and asked the state government to file a fresh report on the probe.
The top court had previously sought a sealed-cover forensic report from the CFSL on the authenticity of the leaked audio clips.
Over 260 people were killed and thousands displaced since the ethnic violence broke out between the Imphal valley-based Meitei and neighbouring hills-based Kuki communities in May 2023.
The clashes began after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against an order of the Manipur High Court on the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
Bhushan had alleged that the recorded conversation prima facie showed the complicity and involvement of the state machinery in the violence against the Kuki Zo community.
KOHUR's plea alleged that Singh was instrumental in "inciting, organising and thereafter centrally orchestrating the large-scale murder, destruction and other forms of violence against the Kuki-dominated areas in Manipur".
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Kerala CM confident of big victory with more seats in 2026 Assembly polls in state
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday expressed confidence of a big LDF win in the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, claiming that the Left Front will get more seats this time round.
Vijayan's confident assertion came during a press conference here in response to reporters' queries regarding the LDF claim that it will win 110 seats this time. It had won 99 seats in the 2021 Assembly elections.
"We have reason to be confident. We expect the people to again vote the LDF to power, with more seats than last time," he contended.
The CM said the circumstances behind the Left Front's loss in the recent civic polls were different and would not affect the outcome of the Assembly elections.
He said that while voting in the Assembly polls, people would not just take into account their experiences during the last one or five years of Left rule, but the last 10 years of LDF administration and will compare it with the situation that was prevalent before that.
"That comparison will significantly influence their decision as the state has achieved a lot in the last 10 years of Left rule," Vijayan claimed.
Giving details of the achievements under the Left rule, he said that it was during the LDF administration that Kerala got the distinction of being the state with the least corruption when the same was rampant across the country.
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This was achieved due to the policies adopted by the LDF government, he contended.
"Similar astonishing changes have been witnessed in various sectors, including education and health, in the state. So, the people will take a decision based on their collective experience during the last 10 years and not as per the propaganda of the opposition," the CM asserted.
When asked whether the LDF's claims of winning 110 seats were based on any survey like that carried out for the Congress-led UDF by poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu, Vijayan said, "We don't have any Kanugolu. The people are our Kanugolu."
The people will not be swayed by such surveys and will take a decision based on their experiences, he reiterated.
Earlier in the day, state Tourism Minister P A Mohammed Riyas claimed that the LDF would win 110 of the 140 assembly seats according to the deliberations during a special cabinet meeting held a day ago.
The interventions required to be made by each minister in the respective districts assigned to them were examined in the meeting, and a clear picture was arrived at on how to proceed further, Riyas told reporters in Kozhikode.
"As per the deliberations, we are confident of winning all of the 13 Assembly seats in Kozhikode district," he added. The Congress-led UDF opposition had recently claimed that it would win 100 of the 140 assembly seats in the upcoming polls.
