File report by November 20: Govt to panel probing turmoil in Manipur

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Friday put a definite time-limit on proceedings of the Justice Ajai Lamba commission set up in June last year to probe the causes and associated factors of the ethnic violence that broke out in Manipur on May 3, 2023, asking it to submit its report latest by Nov 20.
Amending its notification dated June 4, 2023 setting up the three-member commission of inquiry - which also comprises retired IAS officer Himanshu Shekhar Das and ex-IPS officer Aloka Prabhakar - the home ministry, in a fresh notification issued on Friday, said: "The Commission shall submit its report to the Central Government as soon as possible but not later than the 20th November, 2024."
The original notification had capped the term of the commission at six months.However, the order to regulate the procedure of the commission was issued only on August 9, 2023 and notified by the Manipur govt on August 26, 2023. The proceedings of the commission have since extended way beyond the six-month term, even as Manipur continued to witness bouts of violence alongside.
The commission, as per its terms of reference, is tasked with examining the causes and spread of the violence and riots targeting members of different communities, which took place in Manipur on May 3, 2023 and thereafter. It is supposed to retrace the sequence of events leading to, and all the facts relating to the violence, and detect any lapses or dereliction of duty on the part of any of the responsible authorities/individuals. Also, the panel would verify the administrative measures taken to prevent and deal with the violence and riots, and if these were enough.