Manipur Violence: Provide Food & Medicines In Relief Camps And Protect Religious Places, SC to Govt

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the central and state governments to provide food and medicine in relief camps, as well as to protect worship places from any harm in the state of Manipur.

“We emphasise that due arrangements be made in relief camps in terms of food, medical; taking all necessary precautions for the rehabilitation of displaced persons, and protecting places of religious worship,” the order reads.

The order was passed by a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice JB Pardiwala.

The court was considering two petitions- one, a petition filed by Manipur Tribal Forum Delhi seeking SIT probe into the violence and relief for the victims; two, another petition filed by Chairman of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, Dinganglung Gangmei, challenging the direction of the Manipur High Court to forward a recommendation to the Union Government to include Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list.

Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta, appearing on behalf of the Government, informed the bench that concerns about the ongoing violence in the State will be addressed and that remedial measures will be taken on a proactive basis.

The SGI submitted a report outlining a number of steps taken to address the situation in Manipur.

According to the Solicitor General, 52 Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) companies and 101 Assam Rifles companies were deployed to deal with the situation. Flag marches were held in troubled areas, a senior police officer was named security advisor, and a senior officer from the Central government was named Chief Secretary. Furthermore, peace meetings were held, relief camps for displaced people were established, and security forces aided in the movement of stranded individuals.

Mehta further claimed that these efforts have resulted in no reported violence in the last two days, and the situation is returning to normalcy. He went on to say that the curfew in the state had been relaxed for three to four hours with no untoward incidents, indicating that the situation is under control..

The bench then directed the central and state governments to file an updated status report by the next date of hearing i.e., on 17^th May, 2023.