Manipur Violence: Analysing Manipur’s High Court’s Decision

Background

Meteis form one of the largest communities in the State of Manipur. The Meteis predominantly belong to the Hindu community and are not included in the list of Schedule Tribes. The Meteis instituted a writ petition in the Manipur High Court to direct the State to the recommendation of their community as a Schedule Tribe. On 27^th March 2023, the High Court of Manipur delivered a judgment titled Shri Mutum Churamani Meetei v. State of Manipur^[i]. The judgment was delivered by the Acting Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, Mr M.V. Muralidaran.

Facts of the Case

A petition was filed in the Manipur High Court for issuance of a writ of mandamus against the State of Manipur, directing it to issue recommendations to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and include the Meetei [also referred to as the ‘Meitei’] community in the list of Schedule Tribes underprepared under Article 342 as the ‘tribes of Manipur’ in the Constitution of India.

A committee under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs sent a letter on the 29^th May 2013 to the State of Manipur to submit recommendations for tribes to be included under the ‘Schedule Tribe’ list along with ethnographic reports and the socio-economic survey. The Meitei Community submitted a recommendation on 18^th April 2022 to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. The same was forwarded by the Ministry on 31st May 2022 to the State of Manipur.

Contention of the Petitioners

The petitioners contended that the tribal status of the Meitei community existed before 21^st September 1949. On this date, a merger agreement was signed, which led to the merger of Manipur with the Union of India. Additionally, from this date, the Meitei community lost their tribal status. Thus, their contention was to include the said community in the list of Schedule Tribes in order to preserve their language, culture, tradition, etc. Further, they contended that their right to life with dignity and the right to equality is being violated since they are not being treated at par with the other tribes.

Judgement of the Manipur High Court

The High Court disposed of the writ petition and directed the respondents [i.e. the State of Manipur.] to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the list of tribes within a period of 4 weeks from the date of the order of the Manipur High Court. This has to be done in line with the judgment delivered on 26^th May 2003 by the Gauhati High Court. Additionally, the High Court also recommended the respondents submit recommendations [for inclusion in the list of Schedule tribes] to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, in reply to their letter dated 29^th May 2013. The Court observed that:

“….the Government of Manipur has been totally violating the right to equality and right to life with dignity which are enshrined under Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, as in the case of other tribe of the State, the State Government had recommended without any hesitation but in the case of the Meitei community which are also one of the major/principal tribes of Manipur are not recommended by the State Government. This Court finds some force in the submission made by the learned counsel for the petitioners, as the petitioners and other Unions are fighting for long years for the inclusion of Meetei/Meitei community in the tribe list of Manipur.”[ii]

The Aftermath

The aforementioned judgment is being opposed in the State by their tribal communities, predominantly from the Kukis and Nagas. The State is experiencing extreme distress since houses are being burnt, houses are being set to the fore, and villages are getting attacked by mobs. They argue that the Meteis are well-represented politically as well as comprise a large part of the population. Thus, they believe that the culture and tradition of the Meteis are not impacted in any way. 

The case has now gone to the Supreme Court. The Court has questioned the decision of the Manipur High Court and has also expressed concerns with respect to the ongoing violence in Manipur. The Court remarked that there should be adequate protection given in relief camps along with basic facilities. Additionally, the displaced people should be restored to their places.

Sonal Surana has completed her LLM [Specialisation in Business Laws] from National Law University Delhi and B.A.LLB (Hons) [Specialisation in International Law and Constitutional Law] from National Law University and Judicial Academy Assam

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^[i] 2023 SCC OnLine Mani 156.

[ii] Ibid para 15.