The court sought responses from the Center and the state by July 28 about steps taken to bring perpetrators to justice and prevent such incidents.
After summoning Attorney General R Venkataramani and Attorney General Tushar Mehta into the courtroom at 10:30 a.m., a bank of CJI DY chandrachud and judges PS Narsimha and Manoj Misra said: “We were very, very disturbed by the video that has surfaced showing two naked women parade in Manipur. We are very deeply concerned. Showcasing naked women is simply unacceptable. Using women as a tool in a conflict-torn area to perpetrate gender-based violence is completely unacceptable. It also constituted a serious violation of their human rights.” The CJI added: “The video may be from the month of May. But that doesn’t make any difference. We dealt with the matter of violence in Manipur. We want the governments, both the Union and Manipur, to take action, otherwise we will give orders.”
Sharing the court’s concern, Mehta said: “The government is also of the firm opinion that such incidents are completely unacceptable in any part of the country. He was unaware of the issue for which law enforcement officers were requested to be present. Otherwise, he would have called on the state for details of steps taken to bring perpetrators to the book and steps to prevent such incidents in the future.”
In its brief order, the court said: “The court is deeply disturbed by the images that have surfaced in the media since yesterday of the perpetration of sexual assault and violence against the two women in Manipur.
“We are of the opinion that the court should be informed of the steps that the state government has taken to hold the perpetrators accountable and also to ensure that such incidents are not repeated during the riots in Manipur. The images that have appeared in the media indicate serious constitutional violations and violations of human rights.”