Chief Justice DY Chandrachud along with Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra will hear the petition filed by the NGO Tribal Forum of Manipur
Post Date – 08:00 PM, Thursday – 29 June 23
New Delhi: The Supreme Court is scheduled on July 3 to hear the plea of an NGO seeking the army to protect the Kuki minority tribe in Manipur state and prosecute community groups that attacked them.
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud along with Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra will hear the petition filed by the NGO Manipur Tribal Forum.
On June 20, the furloughed judges, led by Judge Surya Kant, declined to hold an emergency hearing on the guilty plea, saying it was a law and order issue that the government should address.
Colin Gonsalves, a senior advocate for the NGO, said 70 tribal members were killed in racial violence in the state despite solemn assurances that no one would die.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represents the state, opposed prayers for an emergency hearing and claimed security agencies were doing their best on the ground to stop the violence and restore normalcy.
He pointed out that the Manipur High Court’s order to grant the majority Meitei community a Scheduled Tribal Status, which sparked a spate of violence in the northeastern state, had the main issues of the case brought up for hearing by the Supreme Court on July 17. . .
The holiday bench then issued the NGO’s request for a hearing on 3 July.
In a petition filed by advocate Satya Mitra, the Tribal Forum of Manipur claimed that the central government and the chief minister of Manipur had jointly launched a campaign aimed at “severing” the Kuki tribe in the northeast. Ethnic Cleansing” public agenda.
The NGO urged the Supreme Court not to rely on the “empty assurances” offered by the Centre, and to seek military protection for the Kookies.
The bloody clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, which have killed more than 120 people, first erupted on May 3 when a “tribal solidarity march” was organized in the state’s mountains to protest the Meitei community’s demands for the listed tribes (ST) state.
The Metai make up about 53% of Manipur’s population and live mainly in the Imphal Valley. The Naga and Kuki tribes make up another 40 percent of the population and live in the mountains.
“The reason why this court should no longer rely on the empty assurances given by the UOI (Union of India) is that the UOI and the state chief ministers have jointly initiated a common agenda of ethnic cleansing of the Kukis, the NGO claimed in the petition .
Claims of a “conflict” between the two communities – the Meite majority and the tribe – could not be further from the truth, as the two have long coexisted, the petition said.
“This narrative ignores the fact that these two communities have long coexisted, albeit at times with deep-seated differences, and secondly, the unique situation that currently exists with several armed community groups linked to the ruling party in the state, against Clans conduct pre-designed group attacks.
“The ‘clash’ narrative obscures the presence of these two groups behind all attacks, shields them from prosecution, and thus encourages them to carry out further attacks,” the petition said.
It has sought to form a SIT, led by former Assam police chief Harekrishna Deka, to intervene in the violence and to pay ex ex gratia payments of Rs 2 crore to relatives of each victim within three months. It also called for a permanent government job for the families of the victims.
The state has been in the midst of bloody clashes between the Meiteis and tribal Kukis since March 27 when the Manipur High Court issued an order giving the state government to advise the Center within four weeks on the majority community’s claim for ST status. .
The Supreme Court has heard a number of motions relating to the situation in Manipur, including a BJP Justice Ministry challenge to the High Court’s order on the Metai community’s registered tribal status and a tribal NGO. PIL plea for SIT investigation into violence that has rocked northeastern states.
