Manipur violence: SC extends tenure of Justice Gita Mittal committee till July 31

The Supreme Court extended the tenure of the Justice Gita Mittal committee until July 31, 2026, to oversee relief, rehabilitation, and compensation for Manipur ethnic violence victims. The panel has submitted 42 reports since its 2023 formation

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended till July 31 the tenure of the apex court-appointed Justice Gita Mittal committee set up to oversee relief and rehabilitation of the victims of ethnic violence in Manipur.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi extended the panel’s term after it was informed that its tenure ended in July last year.

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The bench was informed that the panel has so far submitted 42 reports to the apex court on various aspects related to rehabilitation of the victims.

“Since no formal extension was granted since July 2025, the continuation of the committee shall be regularised and is granted time till July 31, 2026,” the CJI Kant said.

On August 7, 2023, the top court had ordered the setting up of the committee of three former women high court judges to oversee relief and rehabilitation of the victims and compensation to them, besides asking former Maharashtra police chief Dattatray Padsalgikar to monitor the probe in criminal cases.

The committee was authorised to submit its reports directly to the top court, which is monitoring the cases related to ethnic strife.

The panel, headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal, includes Justices (retd) Shalini P Joshi, a former judge of the Bombay High Court, and Asha Menon, an ex-judge of the Delhi High Court.

The three-member panel was constituted days after the apex court had termed as “deeply disturbing” the video of women being paraded naked in the state.

More than 200 people have been killed, several hundred injured and thousands displaced since ethnic violence first broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.