Imphal, Dec 3 (IANS): Chief Justice of Manipur High Court Rakesh Ranjan Prasad on Saturday said late furnishing of chargesheets by police is responsible for delayed disposal of court cases.

Prasad was speaking here as the chief guest at the inaugural function of the awareness programme for lawyers in the high court complex. 

The programme was organised by Manipur State Legal Services Authority and Manipur Judicial Academy in Imphal.

Justices N. Koteswor, Kh. Nobin and many others were present at the inaugural function of the two-day workshop. 

"The 15-member team is creating awareness among the lawyers. This will benefit the practising lawyers," Chief Justice Prasad said. 

A senior police officer told IANS that what the chief justice said was a fact. 

"However, the extreme limitations under which the police in Manipur are working should not be overlooked. There are no modern investigating and testing facilities," he said. 

"Murder weapons and other materials have to be sent to some other states for scientific verification and it takes a long time. Police force is understaffed and the available personnel are engaged in counter insurgency operations. Personnel in the investigating section are yet to get advanced training and modern facilities," the police officer added.

He said if a person is wrongly accused and convicted it is a serious crime and this needs to be avoided.

A large number of lawyers are participating in the awareness training programme.