(Trigger Warning: Mentions of rape, sexual assault.)
“This is the grossest of human rights violation,” Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud said on Thursday, 20 July as it took suo motu cognisance of the video in which two Kuki women were paraded naked on 4 May amid ethnic conflict in Manipur.
Addressing the Attorney General for India R Venkataramani and Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, as per Livelaw, the CJI said that they were deeply disturbed by the videos that have emerged of the incident.
“We are expressing our deep concern. It is time that the government really steps in and takes action. This is simply unacceptable".
The court also noted: “Using women as instruments to perpetrate violence is against constitutional morality and simply unacceptable".
The CJI did add however that they are giving a little time to the government to take action, otherwise they will step in. He also reportedly said that the court was taking note of the incident for consideration amid the batch of cases pertaining to violence in Manipur.
BACKGROUND
In a shocking video that is being widely shared on social media, a mob of men, learnt to be from the Meitei community in Manipur, is seen parading at least two Kuki women towards a paddy field.
The women, who were visibly distressed and crying for help, were dragged and molested by their captors.
The incident occurred in Kangpokpi district on 4 May – a day after ethnic violence broke out in the northeastern state, as per the police. The video surfaced nearly 77 days after the incident.
In his first comments on the Manipur unrest since it began in May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said on Thursday that his “heart is filled with pain and anger.”
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