Manipur Violence: SC Refuses to Entertain PIL Seeking New Panel of Experts

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh PIL seeking a directive to the Centre to intervene and restore law and order in Manipur, plagued by ethnic violence.

The petition also sought the establishment of an expert panel to investigate the underlying causes of the crisis and recommend remedial measures.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, along with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the arguments of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing the PIL petitioners. The court noted that a committee, chaired by retired Justice Gita Mittal, was already examining issues related to the violence and other aspects.

The senior lawyer, assisted by advocate Neha Rathi, emphasized the need for a committee to bring all communities to the table. The bench suggested approaching the existing committee, stating, “This court has already constituted a committee chaired by Justice (retired) Gita Mittal. It’s open to make a representation to the committee. At this stage, we believe that broad and general reliefs would not result in anything.”

The court directed petitioners Yumlembam Surjit Singh, Keisham Arish, and Laishram Momo Singh to approach the Justice Gita Mittal panel.

The PIL filed under Article 32 of the Constitution sought directions to the Union of India to restore law and order and peace in Manipur. It also called for the formation of an expert committee to prepare a detailed report on the root causes of the issue and suggest possible remedial measures, aiming to protect the fundamental rights of the people guaranteed under Article 21, 14, and 19 of the Constitution.

The Supreme Court is already hearing a batch of petitions related to ethnic violence in Manipur and had established a committee of three former High Court women judges to assess the situation and propose corrective measures. The unrest in Manipur began in May over a high court order directing the state government to consider including the non-tribal Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes. The violence has resulted in over 170 deaths and several hundred injuries since May 3, when ethnic violence erupted during a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ in protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.