The Supreme Court has directed the Manipur government to provide details to the court-appointed committee regarding the actions taken to restore places of worship damaged in ethnic violence.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra emphasized that the identification of such structures should encompass all religious faiths and denominations.
The bench asked the state government to submit a comprehensive list to the committee within two weeks, identifying religious structures that were damaged during the violence. The committee is also tasked with preparing a comprehensive proposal outlining the way forward for the restoration of places of public worship damaged or destroyed since May.
“The government of Manipur shall furnish to the court-appointed committee within two weeks the identification carried out of destructed places of worship. We clarify that the identification shall be across all religious denominations and of all sorts of religious places,” stated the bench.
Senior Advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the Meitei Christian Churches Council, informed the bench that the Committee for Rehabilitation in the State, headed by Justice Gita Mittal, had made recommendations for restoring places of worship, urging the court to accept them. He emphasized that the relief sought pertained to places of worship for all communities, not confined to any particular religion.
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati stated that the State of Manipur had filed a detailed affidavit, indicating that the process of identifying destroyed places of worship and securing them had already been completed. The Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, assured the court that necessary steps would be taken to ensure that those in relief camps could celebrate the upcoming Christmas festival.
Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta informed the bench that the Manipur government should formulate a policy for rehabilitating houses destroyed in the violence. In response, the Supreme Court ordered, “The State of Manipur shall, after evaluating the situation and after independently carrying out an investigation, bring out a comprehensive proposal or response as the case may be for the restoration of houses destroyed in the violence.”
The Top court is hearing cases related to the violence in Manipur between the Meitei and Kuki communities. The clashes erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3, leading to violence between the Hindu Meiteis and the tribal Kuki, who are Christians. The central government deployed paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control, as violence has persisted in the state since May.
