Extrajudicial Execution and Charge Sheets submitted by SIT
- 15th February 2025 : United Women Right’s Defender (UWRD) -

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United Women Right’s Defender (UWRD) would like to draw the attention of the people of Manipur with regard to the Justice Santosh Hedge commission established by the Honorable Supreme Court of India which have undertaken the Independent and impartial investigation of 1528 cases of Extrajudicial Execution committed by the Assam Rifle, other paramilitary forces and Indian Army since 2013.

Supreme Court’s Commission of inquiry in 2013:

A Supreme Court-appointed commission, Chaired by Justice N. Santosh Hedge, investigated six cases of alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur and concluded that all were “fake encounter killings in 2013.” The commission was formed following petitions by the Extra-Judicial Execution Victim Families’ Association, Manipur, and Human Rights Alert, Manipur, seeking investigation into 1,528 alleged fake encounter cases between 1979 and 2012. The Supreme Court particularly selected six cases which are as follows:

Case 1: Md. Azad Khan

According to the Santosh Hedge Committee, “It was neither an encounter nor the exercise of the right to self-defense that resulted in the death of the deceased Mohammad Azad Khan, a minor (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013).”

According to the panel, there was insufficient evidence to draw the conclusion that the deceased was a criminal or an activist for any illegal organization. However, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) report that we currently have access to, the High Court of Manipur ordered in a 2009 writ petition that the mother of the deceased receive Rs. 5 lakhs in monetary compensation because the death was caused by Assam Rifles and police personnel (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013).

Case 2: Khumbongmayum Orsonjit Singh

According to the Santosh Hedge Committee, the security personnel cannot claim that they were exercising their right to private defense in the incident that claimed the life of Khumbongmayum Orsonjit Singh, nor was it an encounter (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013). The commission also concluded that Khumbongmayum Orsonjit had no prior criminal history.

As per the latest report of the National Human Rights Commission, a notice was sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India to show cause why monetary assistance should not be granted to the next of kin of the deceased. The court had apparently observed that the case was still pending before the NHRC (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013).

Case 3: Nameirakpam Gobind Meitei and Nameirakpam Nobo Meitei

According to the Santosh Hedge Committee, the aforementioned occurrence was not an encounter; rather, it was a security forces operation in which the victims' deaths were purposefully inflicted (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013). The commission also concluded that neither of the two deceased had any prior criminal history.

According to the most recent NHRC report, the Manipur government has been advised to pay Rs. 5 lakhs to the two deceased people's next of kin. At the State Government's request, the case is still pending with the NHRC while this Court considers the current petition (Committee, 2013) (India, 2021).

Case 4: Elangbam Kiranjit Singh

As of 2024, the SIT submitted 39 charge sheets to the designated courts in Manipur for further legal measures. However, we observed that the cases are progress. The hundreds and thousands of single women with their children in such extremely context in Manipur are waiting for justice. The people who were killed suspected that they were not member of any insurgent groups. It is already 12 years since 2013 to start the investigation. In average only 3 cases were investigated in a year. It will take more than 50 years to complete the investigation.

According to the Santosh Hedge Committee, the security forces' argument cannot be accepted either, even if the complainant's complaint is rejected, since they went beyond their private defense rights. As a result, this Commission believes that self-defense cannot be used to justify the incident in question (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013).

The deceased did not have any negative antecedents. According to the most recent NHRC report, the Manipur government has been given a notice to explain why financial assistance should not be given to the deceased's surviving family members. According to the court, the matter is reportedly still pending with the NHRC while the State Government awaits compliance (Committee, 2013) (India, 2021).

Case 5: Chongtham Umakanta

According to the Santosh Hedge Committee, the situation that resulted in Umakanta's death has compelled to conclude that, despite the complainant's claims, the way he was picked up is unacceptable. The way he passed away makes it clear that this could not have been an encounter. Considering the aforementioned factors, we believe that the security forces' argument that the occurrence was an encounter and that Umakanta was killed in self-defense or during an encounter is not credible (Committee, 2013) (India, 2021).

The commission also discovered that while accusations were made against the dead, their truth had not been proven. We have learnt that the NHRC has recommended to the Manipur government that the deceased's next of kin be given Rs. 5 lakhs. The case is reportedly still pending with the NHRC, the court stated (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013).

Case 6: Akoijam Priyobrata

According to Santosh Hedge Committee, “It was not an encounter that killed the deceased. The commission also concluded that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the deceased had any negative past. The Manipur government has been advised by the NHRC to give the deceased's surviving family members Rs. 5 lakhs. At the State Government's request, the case is still pending with the NHRC, awaiting our ruling in this petition (India, 2021) (Committee, 2013).”

Since 2013, the Central Bureau of Investigation submitted 39 charge sheets till 2023. Investigation against Manipur started with six cases of extrajudicial execution out of 1528 by Commissioning the Justice Santosh Hedge Commission by the Supreme Court of India. As the facts has been cited above it is important to bring to the notice of the people of Manipur that the Indian army, Assam Rifles, CRPF, BSF etc. who were allegedly involved in the extrajudicial execution are still protected by the central Government in New Delhi under the Section 6 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act 1958.

The Section 6 reads as “protection to persons acting under the Act- No prosecution, suit or other legal proceedings shall be instituted except with the previous section of the Central Government, against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by the Act”.

The 1528 victim family members including many young widows, their children, parents and relatives are still bearing the pain, seeking justice in the largest Democratic country in the world. Indian Judiciary system of administration has to confront many contested fronts to deliver justice to the victim families.

The undemocratic act of the Indian Union could be witnessed in the recent past when Government of Nagaland, communicated with the Union Ministry of Defense 3 times to issue the prosecution sanction to investigate against 30 numbers of 20th Para-Commandos who killed 13 Konyak Naga workers in December 2021 at Otting Village under Mon District of Nagaland. However, the competent authority denied to provide the prosecution sanction to investigate into the cases. The family members of the victims are still struggling for justice.

Request for immediate remedies to the Governor of Manipur:

1) Request to seek information related to the 39 charge sheets submitted by the CBI to the Department of Law, Government of Manipur and Manipur Human Right Commission for the reason of delay in trial.

2) Request to communicate with the Chief Secretary, the Govt. of Manipur to communicate with the Union Ministry of External Affairs and MHA, Govt. of India to issue the prosecution sanction to 39 cases of extrajudicial execution to further continue the trial against those soldiers from paramilitary forces and the Army for independent legal action under the section 6 of AFSPA.

(Th Lata Devi)
Co-convenor
United Women Rights Defenders (UWRD)
Palace Compound, Imphal East, Manipur