Some Biren Singh clips altered, says NFSU; SC allows Kuki outfit to access report

The Trust had claimed that the audio clips leaked by a whistleblower substantiate Singh’s alleged role in fuelling the ethnic clashes.

In April 2025, the SC asked the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) to examine the tapes. A month later, the court expressed dissatisfaction with the CFSL report as it could not authenticate the tapes, and sought a fresh report. In August 2025, the SC ordered a fresh forensic examination by NFSU.

In January 2026, the SC asked NFSU to compare the 48-minute clip with the admitted voice of Singh. But with NFSU stating that the clips seemed modified, the court asked Bhushan to submit the entire unedited clip, which he claimed was over 2 hours and 26 minutes, for forensic test. In April, the SC also directed that its first-generation copy be sent for forensic examination.

On Friday, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told the bench that as per NFSU, even the first-generation copy had been altered, making forensic verification impossible. “It has 41 alterations … it’s clearly manipulated,” the law officer told the bench.

She urged the court to dismiss the plea, citing multiple failed attempts to authenticate the clips. Bhushan opposed this and said an examination by Truth Labs had found it to be 93 per cent match with the voice of Singh.

During an earlier hearing, the court had expressed its difficulty in relying on the Truth Labs report, given that it is a private entity.

Adjourning the hearing, the bench said it will now hear both sides based on the contents of the NFSU report.