The Supreme Court has directed that audio tapes allegedly implicating former Manipur CM Biren Singh in ethnic violence be examined by NFSL, Gandhinagar, within six weeks.
BY PC Bureau
August 27, 2025: While directing that the audio recordings allegedly implicating former Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh in the state’s ethnic violence be sent to the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL), Gandhinagar, the Supreme Court on August 25 issued two clear directives to avoid any further delay caused by ambiguity.
The Court specifically instructed the NFSL to determine:
- Whether the audio clips had been modified, edited, or tampered with in any manner.
- Whether the voice in the disputed clips matches the admitted voice sample, with a categorical finding on whether the same person is speaking in all the clips.
The bench, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and P.V. Sanjay Kumar, ordered that the disputed recordings, the admitted sample, and the questionnaire be forwarded to NFSL within one week. The laboratory has been asked to expedite the process and submit its report directly to the Court in a sealed cover within six weeks.
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The order came in response to a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which is seeking an independent probe into the tapes. The Court noted that the Central Forensic Science Laboratory. which had earlier been asked to match the voices, it had returned “no clear finding.”
CFSL Fails “Victims”, SC Sends Biren Singh Tape to NFSU for Probe https://t.co/nX6Fve28vY #SupremeCourt#BirenSinghTape #ForensicProbe #NFSUAhmedabad #JusticeInFocus #ManipurViolence
— POWER CORRIDORS (@power_corridors) August 25, 2025
The Supreme Court also took a dim view of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), which after four months of examination informed the bench that it could not reach a conclusion on whether the tapes were authentic or tampered with. The Court had earlier pulled up the CFSL for conducting a “misdirected” probe. Widespread allegations by the Kuki-Zo community in social media posts that the CFSL report had been “manipulated” to shield Biren Singh have further intensified suspicion.
Adding to the controversy, Truth Labs, a leading private forensic laboratory, has already concluded with 93 percent accuracy that the voice in the tapes belonged to Biren Singh. The divergence between the CFSL’s indecision and Truth Labs’ clarity has raised serious questions, further fueling suspicion that powerful interests maybe attempting to “save the skin” of the former chief minister.
The Court further directed that the costs of the NFSL examination be borne by the Union of India. The matter is now listed for hearing on November 3, 2025.
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Reacting to the development, KOHUR chairman Benjamin Mate said he had full faith in the “wisdom of India’s judicial system” but not in agencies like the CFSL. “They have been a big letdown to hundreds of victims of the Manipur violence — to the women who were raped and killed, to the young children who were burnt alive,” he said. “The pursuit of justice will continue, and we will not rest until people like Biren Singh are prosecuted for their crimes.”
