The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed serious concern over 31 unnatural deaths recorded in relief camps set up in Manipur following the outbreak of Kuki-Meitei ethnic violence in 2023 — camps established to house internally displaced persons (IDPs). Among these deaths was one attributed to sexual assault.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana directed the state government to submit an affidavit detailing the causes of death as determined through postmortem examinations, along with the status of investigations aimed at identifying those responsible. The bench also questioned why the state had offered only Rs 30,000 in compensation to victims’ next of kin, particularly given that it had paid between Rs 4-5 lakh to relatives of those killed in the ethnic clashes themselves.
The court’s order followed its review of a report submitted by the Justice Gita Mittal Committee. Senior advocate Vibha D Makhija presented the report to the bench, referencing a June 7 Times of India article that had reported 731 deaths in relief camps — including 25 unnatural deaths — based on disclosures from the state home department. It noted that approximately 43,000 IDPs were living across various relief camps at the time.
Makhija told the court that when the committee initially requested details on these deaths, the state government provided only limited data, and fuller information was furnished only after repeated follow-up. According to the figures eventually shared, Jiribam and Churachandpur relief camps each recorded nine unnatural deaths, followed by six in Bishnupur, four in Imphal West, two in Imphal East, and one in Kakching.
The bench instructed Manipur’s chief secretary to outline what corrective measures the state intends to implement to prevent further such incidents, and also sought details on steps being taken to speed up investigations into the related FIRs.
