Dissatisfied with the inconclusive report submitted by the Forensic Science Laboratory in Guwahati on the authenticity of the tape in which then Manipur chief minister N. Biren Singh allegedly bragged of his complicity in the 2023 ethnic clashes, the Supreme Court directed the National Forensic Science Laboratory in Gujarat to examine it.
A bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Aravind Kumar passed the order on Tuesday after solicitor-general Tushar Mehta and additional solicitor-general Aishwarya Bhati informed the court that the FSL, Guwahati, could not conclusively establish whether the voice in the tape matched Biren Singh’s.
The order stated: “The questionnaire sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory, Guwahati, Assam, indicates that the issue of matching the voice in the admitted and disputed exhibits was referred, but no clear finding was returned. We are,
therefore, of the opinion that the matter should be referred to NFSL, Gandhinagar,
Gujarat.”
The court directed the NFSL to examine whether the clips were edited or tampered with, and to determine if the voice in the disputed clips matched the admitted sample. Authorities must forward the clips and questionnaire to NFSL within a week, which has six weeks to submit its report in a sealed cover. The case will next be heard on November 3.
At the August 19 hearing, the apex court had expressed dissatisfaction over the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) Guwahati’s inability to authenticate the leaked tape. It also rejected an intervention plea by Biren’s daughter to assist the court. “We are rejecting it… This cannot be some sort of family support programme,” the bench remarked.
The court further dismissed advocate Prashant Bhushan’s contention, appearing for the petitioner, that CFSL Guwahati was biased due to its administrative control under the NDA government.
“You cannot keep suspecting the bona fide of every organisation on the ground of administrative control; otherwise, we will have to bring an organisation from abroad,” the judges observed.
On February 3, the court had sought a CFSL report in sealed cover on the tape, after an NGO, Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust, alleged Singh had incited the violence between the Meiteis and Kukis. The NGO claimed that private facility Truth Labs had confirmed with 93 per cent certainty that the voice was Biren’s.
The Manipur government dismissed the clips as “doctored”, warning they could incite mistrust and derail peace initiatives. It described their circulation as “anti-national activities”.