“Do Not Invite Orders”: The Supreme Court on Deaths in Manipur's Relief Camps, and a Conflict Whose Fault Line Has Moved

On 17 September 2026 a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana directed the Chief Secretary of Manipur to file an affidavit explaining the deaths — “especially unnatural deaths” — of displaced persons in the State's relief camps, and questioned compensation of ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 paid to the families of those who died. The Court was told that post-mortems had been conducted in only 20 of 34 death cases, and directed the Manipur State Legal Services Authority to ensure that FIRs are registered in every unnatural-death case and investigated expeditiously. The Chief Justice told the State's counsel: “Tell your Chief Secretary not to invite orders.”