New Delhi, Nov 3, 2025: Pertaining to the audio records case that allegedly implicates former CM N. Biren Singh in the Manipur conflict, the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL), Gandhinagar, informed the Supreme Court today that it could not offer any opinion on the similarity or dissimilarity of the speaker, as the records exhibit signs of modification or tampering and are not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison.
The Court, after perusing the sealed cover report submitted by NFSL, directed that its final report be furnished to the parties and listed the case for further hearing on December 8.
“Four exhibits showed signs of modification and tampering. Therefore, they conclude that the clips are altered and do not constitute the original source recording and are not scientifically fit for forensic voice comparison,” Justice Sanjay Kumar read from the NFSL report.
Appearing for the petitioner, Kuki Organization for Human Rights Trust, Advocate Prashant Bhushan referred to a separate forensic report prepared by Truth Labs, which found that the 50-minute recording (marked as Y1) was unedited and indicated a 93% probability that the voice matched that of the same person in the control sample. Justice Kumar responded that the petitioner would be furnished with the NFSL report so that a response could be filed.
In August 2025, the Court had directed that the audio clips be sent for forensic examination to the National Forensic Science Laboratory (NFSL), Gandhinagar, after noting that the earlier report from the Guwahati Forensic Sciences Laboratory did not clearly state whether the voice matched that of the Chief Minister. The Court asked the NFSL to examine whether the clips had been edited or tampered with and whether the voice in the disputed clips matched the admitted sample.
The laboratory was directed to submit its report to the Supreme Court in a sealed cover within six weeks. On February 3, 2025, the Court had first sought a forensic report from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) on the same tapes.
