The Army robustly rejects charges that it has scant regard for human rights when conducting counter-insurgency operations, insists its track-record speaks for itself.

Yet that record appears somewhat smeared after a Supreme Court bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit criticised the defence ministry for being tardy in furnishing information sought by a court-appointed Special Investigating Team to probe alleged extra-judicial killings in Manipur by the Army and the Assam Rifles, over whom it exercises operational control.

Their Lordships noted that they had seen letters from the SIT addressed to the defence ministry, “in some cases as far back as February 2018 but the ministry has not even bothered to respond”.

Though the court did not opine on the MoD’s tardiness, in common perception (in Manipur at least) that would be tantamount to authenticating, at least partially, the veracity of the 1500-odd complaints which are the subject of the original petition before the apex court.

Instead, the court directed all concerned to act promptly, to provide the required material to the SIT to facilitate it submitting a comprehensive status report when the court resumes regular functioning after its summer recess.

The complaints into which the SIT is making inquiries are not “stray”, but refer to cases already processed by the National Human Rights Commission, a series of judicial inquiries, and findings of the Gauhati High Court.

When the Additional Solicitor General assured the court that all agencies involved would be directed to supply the SIT the material required, their Lordships replied, “we would require this to be done in a time-bound manner.”

The petition which the apex court is dealing with lists no fewer than 1528 cases in which FIRs have been filed, and those alleged extra-judicial killings have long aroused passions in the North-east even though the “political distance” of the region from New Delhi has meant the deaths attracting only limited attention in the National capital.

In recent times the NDA leadership has frequently claimed that it accords high priority to the region ~ it certainly does in an electoral calculus ~ but those extra-judicial killings continue to stoke the fires of unrest, alienation, and militancy.

The dynamic defence minister would do well to ensure that the latest judicial directives are duly complied with, maybe set up a team of senior officers to devote the next few weeks to clearing the cobwebs that have engulfed the SIT: for the ministry loses its own credibility when the court pulls it up for not taking a grave issue with desired seriousness.

That a section of the political class levels charges of being “anti-national” against those who question the functioning of the forces is no escape route for South Block’s indifference ~ Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman is entrusted with preserving the security of the nation, and that includes the folk in Manipur.