New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday expressed serious concern over why only portions of leaked audio recordings linked to the 2023 Manipur ethnic violence were sent for forensic examination, despite the full material being available before the court.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe said it was “a little disturbed” by an affidavit filed on November 20 on behalf of the petitioners, which indicated that “only select clippings” of the audio recordings were forwarded for analysis. The court questioned why the entire 48-minute audio clip placed before it had not been sent to the National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), Gandhinagar.

The issue assumes significance as the NFSU had earlier concluded that the audio clips it examined were “tampered with”, a finding that weakened allegations levelled against former Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh. Singh resigned on February 9 amid internal dissent within the BJP and sustained demands for a leadership change in the violence-hit state.

During the hearing, the bench noted that the affidavit-claimed by the respondents to have not been served on them-suggested selective submission of material. “Now this affidavit, which according to you has not been served upon you, states to the effect that only select clippings were sent…,” the court observed.

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, said it was possible that the complete set of recordings submitted to the court had not been forwarded to the NFSU. When counsel for the respondents sought time to respond, the bench pressed the issue, asking why the full audio was not examined earlier. “But why should time be wasted again?” the court remarked.

Seeking clarity on the length of the recordings, the bench was told by Bhushan that the original audio ran for about 56 minutes, of which 48 minutes had been filed before the court. He added that the remaining portion could reveal the identity of the person who made the recording, disclosure of which could endanger his life.

The bench remained unconvinced. “Once the entire tape was available with you, the entire tape ought to have been sent to the NFSU. Why should they send only this limited one?” it said, adding that the 48-minute clip should have been examined in full.

Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati sought a week’s time to respond to the affidavit. Taking it on record, the court listed the matter for further hearing on January 7.

The case arises from a petition filed by the Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR), which has sought an independent special investigation team probe into the leaked audio recordings. The petition alleges that the recordings implicate Singh and elements of the state machinery in violence against the Kuki-Zo community-claims the former chief minister has denied.

Earlier, on November 3, the Supreme Court noted that the NFSU had found the clips it examined to be edited and “not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison”. Bhushan, however, referred to another forensic report claiming at least one recording was unedited.

The court has been closely scrutinising the forensic process. On August 19, it described the Central Forensic Science Laboratory’s earlier exercise as “misdirected”, noting that it had focused on voice matching rather than a broader assessment of authenticity. On August 25, the court referred the matter to the NFSU to determine whether the clips were modified or tampered with and whether the voices matched admitted samples.

The proceedings are rooted in the wider context of the Manipur violence, which erupted in May 2023 following a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ against a Manipur High Court order related to the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status. The violence has claimed more than 260 lives and displaced thousands amid prolonged clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities.