Imphal: The Supreme Court on November 3 observed that the leaked audio clips purportedly linked to former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh during the 2023 ethnic violence were “tampered with,” according to findings by the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL), Gujarat.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Alok Aradhe stated that the NFSL report confirmed the audio files had been edited and were not suitable for forensic voice comparison. “The audio clips exhibited signs of editing and tampering, and consequently, no opinion regarding the similarity or dissimilarity of the speakers can be offered,” the bench noted.
The court was hearing a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which had sought an independent SIT probe into the alleged recordings. The bench directed that copies of the NFSL report be shared with all concerned parties and fixed the next hearing for December 8.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for KOHUR, requested that the report be made accessible so parties could respond formally. The bench further observed that the clips were “not original source recordings” and thus could not be relied upon for accurate forensic analysis.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, informed the court that the final NFSL report conclusively found the disputed recordings had been tampered with. “We have shared the final conclusions which say the recordings have been tampered with. It is now quite peaceful there,” Mehta told the bench.
Earlier, on August 19, the Supreme Court had criticised the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for its “misdirected” testing of the recordings, later transferring the examination to NFSL Gandhinagar. The lab was instructed to determine if the clips were edited or altered and whether the voices matched the admitted samples.
The controversy emerged when audio clips allegedly featuring Biren Singh’s voice surfaced online amid the ethnic violence between Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities that began in May 2023. Singh resigned on February 9, 2024, following political unrest within the BJP and demands for his removal.
Over 260 people were killed and thousands displaced during the conflict, which began after a “Tribal Solidarity March” was held in Churachandpur district opposing the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
KOHUR had alleged that the leaked clips were manipulated to influence perceptions of the violence and demanded an impartial investigation. The Supreme Court’s latest observation, backed by the NFSL report, now casts serious doubt on the authenticity of the purported audio evidence.
