Court directs whistleblower’s pen drive copy to be sent to NFSU for forensic comparison with admitted voice recordings in Manipur violence case
Whistleblower Agrees To Submit Audio
The Supreme Court was informed that the whistleblower has agreed to provide the original audio clips allegedly implicating former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in connection with the State’s ethnic violence.
A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran has been passing directions to verify the authenticity of the recording and compare it with Biren Singh’s admitted voice samples.
Earlier Forensic Reports Examined
In February last year, the Supreme Court had directed production of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Guwahati report in a sealed cover.
In May, after expressing dissatisfaction with the report submitted by the Central FSL, the Court asked for a fresh FSL report.
In August, the Court directed the National Forensic Sciences Laboratory to resume the exercise after the CFSL report did not return clear findings.
Later, in January this year, the Court directed the National Forensic Sciences University to examine the complete 48-minute clip and compare it with the admitted voice of Singh.
NFSU Found Audio Difficult To Compare
In the previous order, the Court noted that NFSU was unable to carry out the comparison because the audio appeared to have been modified.
The Court had then asked Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioner Kuki Organisation for Human Rights, to explore whether the whistleblower would be willing to submit the original, unmodified audio.
Bhushan had earlier stated that such disclosure could expose the whistleblower’s identity, but he would make efforts.
The Court was later informed that the whistleblower had submitted audio running for more than 2 hours and 26 minutes.
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State Asked To Furnish Admitted Voice Recording
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati was asked why NFSU had not been able to compare the submitted audio with Biren Singh’s audio clips.
Bhati submitted that the audio appeared to be modified, as it contained variations at different levels.
She also stated that the admitted recordings of Biren Singh were not supplied by the State of Manipur, contrary to the petitioner’s allegation.
Bhushan maintained that the State had audio clips of Singh from Doordarshan interviews for comparison.
The Supreme Court has now directed the State to furnish admitted audio recordings for comparison with the disputed clip.
NFSU Clarification On Pen Drive
ASG Bhati also clarified that NFSU had been unnecessarily trolled for writing “pendrive” as “pandrive”.
She submitted that NFSU had received the material in that form and, to maintain authenticity, was not authorised to alter even the wording.
Court Seeks First-Generation Copy
As the Court proceeded to pass an order for the audio to be submitted to NFSU, Bhushan informed the Bench that the audio had been copied from the mobile phone used to record the voice to a pen drive, and that further copies were later made.
The Court observed that the matter required the first-generation copy for forensic examination.
Bhati, on instructions, submitted that the original device was not necessary, but the first copy transferred from the mobile phone to the pen drive would be required so that hash value could be generated.
She stated that the scientists required a raw file without alteration.
“No Point Giving Copy Of Copy”: Court
Bhushan said he would find out which pen drive contained the first copy.
He also submitted that a new copy could not be made because the whistleblower had deleted the audio from the mobile phone.
Justice Sanjay Kumar observed that copies may degrade in quality and said there was no point in producing “a copy of a copy of a copy.”
Bhushan responded that the whistleblower had copied the audio from the phone to a pen drive and then deleted it out of fear.
NFSU Directed To Complete Exercise Within Six Weeks
The Bench ultimately directed that the first-generation pen drive copy be furnished to the other side within one week for onward transmission to NFSU.
The Court also directed the State of Manipur to furnish admitted recordings of the person concerned to NFSU for comparison.
NFSU has been directed to complete the exercise as expeditiously as possible, preferably within six weeks.
Case Details
Case Title: Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust v. Union of India
Case No.: W.P.(C) No. 702/2024
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran
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