Supreme Court asks if panel monitoring safety of North-East people just meets for ‘chat and tea’

Supreme Court of India. File | Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

India’s Supreme Court on Wednesday (Jul 15, 2026) questioned whether a court-ordered monitoring committee set up to address issues faced by people from northeastern states living across the country, including racial discrimination and targeted violence, was doing any concrete work.

Justice Sanjay Kumar, Head of the Division Bench, asked if the committee meetings were meant only to “consume cups of tea”.

“All the talk, nothing seems to be done,” Justice Kumar said.

Northeast outraged by Nid’s death

Untraceable complainant

Oral submissions to the court were triggered when records submitted by the government referred to how the whereabouts of the woman who sent the complaint to the committee remained a mystery.

Justice Kumar asked how the woman could remain untraceable without any means of communication given that she had emailed her complaint to the committee. Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the government, said the actual investigation was done by the police while the committee only forwarded the complaints it received.

The committee is made up of a wide range of senior government officials, including some from the Home Office and other ministries and agencies. It also includes representatives from northeastern states, including petition advocate Alana Golmei.

The panel was created after a tragic death

The panel was formed to “monitor, oversee, track and review” the implementation of the July 2014 MP Bezbaruah Committee report following the tragic death of Nido Tania, a 19-year-old student from Arunachal Pradesh in Delhi. Tania died from injuries sustained in an altercation after he was racially humiliated by a mob in January 2014.

The Monitoring Committee was tasked with overseeing the initiatives taken by the government to curb and address incidents of racial atrocities and violence and monitor the actions taken when such incidents occurred.

The panel was further empowered to receive, consider and hear complaints from victims of racial abuse and forward them to national or state human rights commissions or jurisdictional police stations for investigation and necessary action.

Published – 15 Jul 2026 22:55 IST