SC To Hear NGO’s Plea For Protection Of Kuki Tribals In Manipur Violence On July 3rd

The Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing on July 3 for a plea filed by the NGO “Manipur Tribal Forum,” which seeks Army protection for the minority Kuki tribals in Manipur and prosecution of communal groups involved in attacking them. The bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra will be considering the petition.

Earlier, on June 20, a vacation bench led by Justice Surya Kant had declined to grant an urgent hearing on the plea, stating that it is a law and order issue that should be addressed by the administration.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the NGO, had argued that despite assurances that no one would die, 70 tribals have been killed in ethnic violence in the state.
The State’s representative, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, had opposed the request for an urgent hearing, asserting that security agencies are already present on the ground, working their best to control the violence and restore normalcy.

The petitioner had argued that the main issue related to the Manipur High Court’s order granting Scheduled Tribe status to the majority Meitei community, which sparked a series of violent incidents in the state, is scheduled for hearing in the Supreme Court on July 17.
Following this, the vacation bench had set the hearing for the NGO’s plea on July 3.

The Manipur Tribal Forum, represented by advocate Satya Mitra, has alleged that the central government and the chief minister of Manipur are pursuing a communal agenda aimed at “ethnic cleansing” of the Kuki tribals in the state. The NGO has urged the Supreme Court not to rely on the “empty assurances” given by the government and has requested Army protection for the Kuki community.
The clashes between the Meitei and Kuki communities, which began on May 3 after a “Tribal Solidarity March” in protest against the Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status, have resulted in more than 120 fatalities. The Meiteis constitute approximately 53% of Manipur’s population and primarily reside in the Imphal Valley, while the tribal Nagas and Kukis make up around 40% of the population and reside in the hill districts.

The NGO stated in its petition, “The reason why this court ought not to rely anymore on the empty assurances given by UOI (Union of India) is because both the UOI and the Chief Minister of the State have embarked jointly on a communal agenda for the ethnic cleansing of the Kukis”.
According to the petition, “Such a narrative misses the fact that the two communities have co-existed for a long time despite their sometime deep-rooted differences and, secondly, that the unique situation presently existing is of a couple of armed communal groups linked to the party in power in the State, carrying out a predesigned communal attack on the tribals.”

The petition claimed that “The ‘clash’ narrative camouflages the presence of these two groups behind all the attacks and renders them immune from prosecution thereby emboldening them to carry on further attacks.”

The NGO has requested the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by former Assam police chief Harekrishna Deka to investigate the ongoing violence. They have also demanded a compensation of Rs 2 crore to be given to the families of each individual who lost their lives within a period of three months. Additionally, the NGO has called for a permanent government job to be provided to a member of each bereaved family.
The state of Manipur is currently experiencing a violent conflict between the Meiteis and the tribal Kukis.

This conflict intensified following a March 27 order from the Manipur High Court, which instructed the state government to submit a recommendation to the central government within four weeks regarding the demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status for the Meitei community.

The Supreme Court is currently reviewing several petitions related to the situation in Manipur. These include a plea filed by a BJP MLA challenging the high court’s order on granting ST status to the Meitei community, as well as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by a tribal NGO calling for an SIT investigation into the violence that has plagued the northeastern state.