Manipur HC verdict on Meitei inclusion in ST list SC raps stay order

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuked the Manipur High Court on its recent decision to include the Meetei/ Meitei community in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

Notably, the decision sparked violent clashes between tribal and non-tribal communities, leading to widespread violence in the northeastern state.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala said the decision was “false in fact” and that the communities were not classified as Scheduled Castes by the Constitution Bench decisions of the Supreme Court. It is against the established principles of classification as or Scheduled Tribes, according to reports.
“We have to stay the order of the Manipur High Court. This is factually incorrect and we gave Justice Muralidharan time to correct his mistake but he did not do so. We have to take a tough stance against him now. It is clear what we should do if the High Court judges do not follow the judgments of the Constitution Benches… It is very clear,” the CJI remarked.
According to reports, the court did not pass any injunction but noted that since an appeal has been filed before a division bench of the high court against the single judge’s decision, the affected parties can present their case before the division bench.

The court was hearing pleas seeking directions to the central and state governments to ensure the safety of Manipuri tribals after the High Court verdict led to violent clashes in the state.
Notably, in March this year, Manipur High Court Justice MV Muralidharan had ordered the Manipur government to “list the Meetei/Meitei community as a Scheduled Tribe as soon as possible, preferably within four weeks.

This led to clashes between tribal and non-tribal communities which resulted in loss of life and damage to property in addition to widespread fires.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioner, told the apex court on Wednesday that the high court’s decision was against the judgments of the Supreme Court.

Earlier, the Manipur government had informed the apex court that the All Manipur Tribal Union had filed a writ appeal against the March 27 judgment of Justice MV Muralidharan.

The court noted that a division bench of the High Court had issued a notice in this writ appeal and it was scheduled to be heard on June 6.
The court added that the Manipur government also moved an application before Justice Muralidharan seeking an extension of time to implement the judgment and the judge granted the extension.

Notably, the court also directed the government authorities to ensure that law and order is maintained.

Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar said that the illegal immigrants are coming from Myanmar and they want to settle in Manipur.