New Delhi, The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the sentence of self-styled NSCN “lieutenant” Hopeson Nignshen, convicted in connection with the abduction and killing of three Manipur government officials in the state’s Ukhrul district in February 2009.
The killings had resulted in ethnic tension between the Meities and Nagas and led to a series of bandhs in Manipur. In view of the sensitivity of the killing, the state government transferred the case to CBI which subsequently arrested Nignshen on May 29, 2009.
The Delhi High Court on November 20, 2019 had upheld trial court’s order convicting Nignshen for kidnapping and killing three government officials in Manipur in 2009 and handed him life imprisonment. The trial court in 2014 had awarded the jail term to Hopeson Nignshen, holding him guilty of abducting Dr Thingnam Kishan Singh and two others, and killing them after conspiring with other National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah militants. The case was transferred to Delhi from Manipur on the Supreme Court’s direction in May 2010 after CBI had apprehended a threat to Nignshen’s life and chances of unrest in the state if he was presented in a Manipur court.
“We are dealing with a case where the appellant has been incarcerated for more than 17 years and therefore, he is relying only on the ground of suspension of sentence, particularly when his appeal is pending.
We grant suspension of sentence on the following conditions: the applicant shall stay within the boundaries of Delhi and not leave until the appeal is disposed of,” the bench said.
