Supreme Court asks if panel monitoring the safety of people from the Northeast meets just for ‘talk and tea’
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) questioned if any concrete work is being done by the court-mandated monitoring committee set up
The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday (July 15, 2026) questioned if any concrete work is being done by the court-mandated monitoring committee set up to address problems faced by people from the northeastern States living across the country, including racial discrimination and targeted violence. Justice Sanjay Kumar, heading a Division Bench, asked if the committee’s meetings were only meant to “consume cups of tea”. “All talk, nothing seems to be done,” Justice Kumar said. North-east outraged at Nido’s death Untraceable complainant The court’s oral observations were triggered when records submitted by the government referred to how the whereabouts of a woman who had sent a complaint to the committee remained a mystery.
Justice Kumar asked how the woman could remain untraceable with no means of communication, given that she had emailed her grievance to the committee. Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj, representing the government, said it was the police who did the actual investigation, while the committee merely passed on the complaints it received. The committee is made up of a wide variety of senior government officials, including some from the Home Ministry and other departments and bodies. It also includes representatives from the northeastern States, including the petitioner-advocate Alana Golmei.
Panel formed after tragic death The panel was formed to “monitor, oversee, pursue and review” the implementation of the M.P. Bezbaruah Committee report of July 2014 following the tragic death of Nido Tania, a 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh, in Delhi. Tania died from injuries suffered in an altercation after he was racially humiliated by a mob in January 2014. The monitoring committee was tasked to keep a watch over initiatives taken by the government to curb and deal with incidents of racial atrocities and violence, and to monitor the actions taken when such incidents occurred.
The panel was further empowered to receive, consider, and entertain complaints from victims of racial abuse, and forward them to or State Human Rights Commissions or the jurisdictional police stations for enquiry and necessary action.
The BriefWire