The Supreme Court has directed its court-appointed committee headed by former High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal to verify claims that around 24,000 families affected by the 2023 ethnic violence in Manipur are yet to receive rehabilitation and welfare benefits.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing matters related to the rehabilitation of people who lost their homes, properties and sources of livelihood during the prolonged violence.
The court took note of the steps taken by the government to support affected families, including financial assistance for rebuilding houses. More than 4,000 beneficiaries out of around 7,000 identified families have received funds under the housing reconstruction scheme, according to the submissions before the court.
Under the scheme, the government provides Rs 5 lakh for rebuilding a kutcha house and Rs 7 lakh for a semi-pucca or pucca house. The bench also noted that more than 12,000 houses had been approved under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin for families affected by the violence.
The court further took note of the construction of temporary shelters and the release of Rs 51.95 crore for 885 identified beneficiaries to construct permanent houses. Families whose homes were completely destroyed had also received an additional Rs 1 lakh per household.
However, lawyers representing some of the affected families claimed that around 24,000 families were still awaiting rehabilitation and welfare benefits. They said the claim could be verified through ground-level assessment.
The bench noted that details of the alleged affected families had already been submitted to the three-member Justice Gita Mittal Committee. Chief Justice Surya Kant directed the panel to verify the particulars and submit its findings, along with a note on the implementation of government welfare schemes identified in the Supreme Court’s May 27, 2026 order.
The court also referred an application concerning properties belonging to families affected by the violence to the Justice Mittal-led committee. The panel has been asked to verify the details and present status of the properties and submit a report to the court.
The bench separately took note of claims concerning damage to places of worship, including a list of 276 properties requiring verification. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves also informed the court about a separate list of 20 churches where alleged encroachment had taken place.
The committee has been directed to examine the representations and verify the claims using relevant documents and land records. Authorities have also been asked to ensure that no further encroachment takes place on properties found to be covered by the claims.
The Justice Gita Mittal-led committee will submit its findings to the Supreme Court for further consideration.
The ethnic violence in Manipur began on May 3, 2023, following a Tribal Solidarity March in the hill districts against a demand for Scheduled Tribe status by the majority Meitei community. More than 200 people have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands displaced since the violence began.
