The Manipur government on Friday filed a “confidential” status report before the Supreme Court on the recovery of stolen or missing weapons and ammunition “from all sources” in the state gripped in ethnic violence for nearly five months.

The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed a bench of Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra that a confidential status report has been filed on the issue and it is for the judges only.

The bench agreed to accept the confidential report as the issue regarding the weapons was “extremely sensitive”. Chief Justice Chandrachud said, “Keeping in mind the sensitivity of the issue, the status report (on recovery of arms) shall be made available only to this court.”

However, the Chief Justice Chandrachud made it clear that he, personally as a judge, was averse to filing any such documents which are not available to litigants.

Earlier, the top court had asked the Manipur government and the law enforcement agencies to file a status report on the “recovery of arms made from all sources” in the State.

The top court’s direction came after it was told that besides illegal arms, a huge cache of arms and ammunition were stolen from police stations and army depots in the State.

Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for the Kuki community side, told the top court that bodies of two women, who were gang-raped and killed on May 4, in Manipur, have not been given to their families yet.

The Solicitor General said that the court-appointed committee has already taken cognisance of this and has issued directions to the authorities’ top court had earlier appointed a three-judge committee, headed by Justice (retd) Gita Mittal and also comprising Justices (retd) Shalini P Joshi and Asha Menon to oversee relief and rehabilitation of victims of ethnic violence in the state.

Justice Gita Mittal is a former Chief Justice of J&K High Court.

The bench then posted the matter relating to violence in Manipur for hearing on September 25.

The top court seized of a batch of petitions relating to the violence in Manipur between Meitei and Kuki communities.

The violence between the Meitei and the tribal Kuki, erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3.

The Central government has deployed paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control.