On Friday, the Supreme Court said that it would be “very early” to request that former Maharashtra DGP Dattatray Padsalgikar provide a report on the progress of the CBI inquiry into incidents of sexual assault on women and children in Manipur during sectarian conflict.
The inquiry into the 11 FIRs, including the viral video of two young tribal women parading nude after being raped, that the state government forwarded to the central investigative agency would be overseen by Padsalgikar, who was appointed by the top court on August 7 to that role.
Padsalgikar had been given two months by the court to produce a report outlining the progress that had been accomplished.
Senior attorney Indira Jaising said during the hearing that the CBI inquiry into the cases transferred by the Manipur government has not received any updates till date.
“The CBI has not submitted any updates on the inquiries. The CBI’s investigations into the 11 cases that were transferred to them have not received any updates, despite the (Judges) Committee giving updates, Jaising said the bench, which was presided over by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and included Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
The court then commented that Padsalgikar had personally been to Manipur and was a “seasoned” member of the Maharashtra Police who had “extensive experience in the northeast.”
The bench continued, “Give the officer some time to take charge, keep an eye on things, and then we may ask for a status report.”
In support of the Manipur government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that the Supreme Court “purposefully” refrained from keeping an eye on the probe on a day-to-day basis and predicted that after the CBI presented its report, “everyone will start to monitor the investigation.”
