In the batch of pleas concerning the violence in Manipur, the Supreme Court on Tuesday, 11 July, directed the Manipur Government to consider certain suggestions put forth by the petitioners to alleviate the situation.
The bench, led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, had made it clear on 10 July that the Court cannot take control of law and order from the elected government.
Instead, the court had sought constructive suggestions that the government could consider, specifically excluding the aspect of security measures, which falls under the purview of the executive.
Today, during the hearing before the bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha, Advocate Nizam Pasha presented 13 suggestions on behalf of the Zomi Students Federation of India:
1. Designate an officer who can be contacted by families of missing persons to facilitate visits to mortuaries and enable the identification and handover of bodies for last rites.
2. Address the acute shortage of doctors in hill district hospitals by deploying doctors from the health ministry and those promised by the Home Minister.
3. Resolve the shortage of essential medicines, Dialysis Machines, and CT Scan Machines in the hill district hospitals.
4. Facilitate arrangements for medical students from different institutions to attend classes in other institutions of similar standing outside the state due to the current situation.
5. Defer the Manipur University examinations in affiliated colleges as schools and colleges in the hill districts have been converted into relief camps.
6. Provide helicopter services between Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Tengnoupal, and Aizawl, Guwahati, and Dimapur to enable safe transportation for tribals who are hesitant to come to Imphal even for airport usage.
7. Restore Jio and Vodafone cellular services in the state, which have been non-functional for several weeks.
8. Withdraw the circular issued by the state government that threatens disciplinary action against employees who fail to report to work, considering the significant number of people who have left the state or are living in relief camps.
9. Address the shortage of drinking water, food, sanitation, shelter, and bedding at relief camps in Churachandpur, Kangpokpi, Chandel, and Tengnoupal. The petitioner will provide a list of urgently required items, and the state/central government should be directed to supply them promptly.
10. Issue a direction that persons in official positions exercise appropriate restraint and avoid making inciting or provocative remarks targeting any specific community, as directed by the court in the case of Kaushal Kishor v. State of U.P.
11. Correct the discrepancy in the chairmanship of the unified command center, as it is currently being chaired by the Chief Minister instead of the security adviser, as initially stated by the Home Minister. This correction is necessary to instill confidence in the neutrality of the measures being undertaken.
12. Provide a status report on the number of arms looted from police armories, the number of recovered arms, and the efforts being made to recover the remaining arms.
13. Appoint a committee chaired by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, with representatives from the affected communities, to oversee rescue, relief, and rehabilitation measures and address related grievances. This will ensure impartiality, neutrality, and public confidence in the relief and rehabilitation measures. Presently, the teams appointed by the government to oversee these measures comprise ministers and MLAs, but do not include any MLAs from the Zo-Kuki tribes, which raises concerns about the neutrality of the measures being implemented.
The Govt's Response
Regarding suggestions numbers 5, 6, and 7, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta assured that the state administration will conduct the necessary consultations and take appropriate action as required.
Regarding suggestion number 13, the Court noted that the current committees lack representation from MLAs of the Zo-Kuki tribes, and it emphasized the importance of granting such representation to build public confidence. The administration was requested to keep this in mind.
Regarding the remaining suggestions, the Court directed that positive action be taken on or before Friday.
(With inputs from LiveLaw)
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