New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday extended the tenure of the Justice Gita Mittal committee, set up by the apex court to look into diverse aspects of ethnic violence in Manipur, by six months.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra extended the term of the three-member committee after the bench was informed that the tenure of the committee ended on July 15.
“The committee chaired by Justice Gita Mittal stands extended by six months,” the top court bench said.
Apex court on August 7 last year ordered setting up of three-member committee
The apex court had on August 7 last year had ordered setting up a three-member High Power Committee (HPC) comprising of three former women high court judges to look into diverse aspects of ethnic violence in the state of Manipur, including overseeing relief and rehabilitation of the victims and compensation to them.
The committee was headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Mittal and two other members of the committee were – Justices (retd) Shalini P Joshi, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, and Asha Menon, a former judge of the Delhi High Court.
Committee will look into diverse aspects of crisis in Manipur, apex court had said
The top court, while setting up the committee said that these three judges will look at – apart from investigation, issues like relief, rehabilitation, restoration so on so forth. “It will be a broad-based committee, it will visit relief camps and oversee relief work. All in all the committee will look into diverse aspects of the crisis in the state,” the top court bench said.
The apex court also appointed former IPS officer and former Maharashtra police chief Dattatray Padsalgikar to oversee and monitor investigations being carried out by Manipur into instances of violence in the state.
The top court had said, “The idea behind having this oversight mechanism is that these committees will file reports to the Supreme Court from time to time.”
Earlier, the top court had termed as “deeply disturbing” the video of women being paraded naked in the state of Manipur.
More than 200 people lost their lives thousands were displaced since ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 last year
More than 200 people lost their lives, several hundred persons were injured and thousands were displaced since ethnic violence first broke out in the state of Manipur on May 3 last year when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts of the state to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
