Manipur’s Year of Agony
But everything changed in the month of May, as the state's ethnic fault lines cracked open and long-simmering tensions came to the boil.
The Manipur High Court has deleted a paragraph from its March 27, 2023 order in which it has directed the state government to consider recommending the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list.
The controversial order is believed to be the reason behind the ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki-Zomi communities last year.
In the previous order, the High Court had said, “The first respondent (meaning the state) shall consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.”
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However, in its detailed order passed on Wednesday, the High Court deleted that particular paragraph and quashed a review petition filed by the Meitei Tribes Union (MTU).
Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu, who passed the revised order, cited a previous Supreme Court order in Maharashtra v. milind &Ors case, in which the top court has said that courts can’t alter the ST list.
Justice Gaiphulshillu said that the 2023 judgment was passed as the petitioners “failed to assist the court properly at the time of hearing of the said writ petition due to this misconception of fact and law.”
“Accordingly, the direction given at Para No. 17(iii) needs to be deleted and is ordered accordingly for deletion,” the amended judgment read.
The constitution bench of the Supreme Court had observed that the responsibility of amending and modifying the Scheduled Tribes list belongs to the Central Government and that no courts can modify, amend or alter the list.
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