SC Commission in town : Confidence building measures
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 04, 2013 -

Commission members arriving at Imphal on March 03 2013 :: Pix - TSE

When the state turns into a killing machine or is seen to have turned into a killing machine, then it is time to call the bluff.

This is the line that should be seen in the decision of the Supreme Court to institute a three member Inquiry Commission to probe six cases of alleged extra-judicial killings in the State.

‘Is there a war out there ?’, ‘People are dying out there, do something’ and the observations passed by the apex Court of the country is significant.

The State Home Department or more specifically the State Police Department must be feeling the heat now that the three member Commission has started the inquiry in the public domain.

Interesting to note too that in the six cases taken up for inquiry, the State police is named in all the cases, while the Army/Assam Rifles has been named in four of them.

A damning statement on how the State can be seen as sponsoring alleged extra-judicial killings, outside the ambit of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Remember the State police does not come under the ambit of this Act.

How the dice rolls is something which only time will tell, but in the very act of instituting the three member inquiry commission, the Supreme Court has indeed sounded a very significant stand, and that is, it has taken cognizance of the numerous allegations raised against the State by the people.

To repeat an earlier observation, this is where the first round may be said to have gone in favour of the petitioners or the people.

The ongoing hearing in the cases is also a grim reminder of the July 23, 2009 BT Road incident, when Tehelka came out with a series of photos, contradicting the encounter theory put forward by the State police and the months of agitation that virtually paralysed the State.

Lest it get lost in a cacophony of voices, it should also be clear to the people that this is not reduced to a witch hunting exercise. It should move beyond this.

It should be about restoring the faith and confidence of the people in the Government and in its agencies which are there to uphold the rule of law.

Government may come and go, or more particularly, elected members may come and go, but Government institutions will remain. Politicians may be voted out of power after five years, but the institutions will remain. They are permanent.

And when the faith and confidence of the public in these permanent institutions erode to the extent that it cannot be retrieved, then it can only spell doom for all.

It is against this reality that the people should approach the ongoing probe. Let the Commission also cover the other cases which have been put up by the Extrajudicial Execution Victims’ Families Association.

The healing touch should start now and of course it should also be ensured that justice is delivered in as much as it should also be seen to have been delivered.

The long arm of the law should not be understood only within the context of declared criminals but should more importantly cover people who take refuge in the institutions provided by the Government.

Rare it is, but certainly, Manipur has something to smile for at this moment.

And no this should not be about any witch hunt, but should be seen as an exercise to counter the trend, where the faith and confidence of the public in Government institutions has been eroded to such an extent that the dictionary may just not have been able to coin a word or a phrase to aptly put the reality into perspective.