Plea filed in SC against order to include Meetei/Meitei Community as a ST in Manipur

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court by Dinganglung Gangmei, BJP MLA and Chairman of the Hill Area Committee (HAC) of the Manipur Legislative Assembly against the High Court's March 27 direction for including Meetei/Meitei Community as a Scheduled Tribe in the Presidential list.

The development comes amid large scale violence in Manipur, causing death of over 50 people and displacement of thousands others.

The plea contended that the Meeteis/Meiteis are economically and politically and educationally advanced dominant and there have been long standing tensions between them and the tribals.

A separate petition also questioned validity of contempt notice issued by the High Court on May 3 to the petitioner for passing of a resolution by the HAC on April 20, contended "the High Court ought to have realized that this was a political problem in which it had no role to play and the political disputes had to be resolved politically.

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"By getting into the political area and making a categorical order that the state government is directed to submit a recommendation for the inclusion of the Meeteis/Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribe list to the central government, the High Court ambiguously and in all probability inadvertently gave rise to strong misgivings and worries and tensions among the tribals," the plea stated.

In a special leave petition, the petitioner contended the High Court has passed the order in violation of constitutional bench judgment of the Supreme Court in 'State of Maharashtra vs Milind (2001) which clearly laid down that it is not open to state government or courts or tribunals or any other authority to modify, amend or alter the list of Schedule Tribes specified in the notification issues under clause (1) of the Article 342 of the Constitution.

"The Meetei/Meitei community are not a tribe(s) and have never been recognized as a tribe(s). In fact, they are very much an advanced community though some of them may come within SC, OBC," the plea filed through advocate Satya Mitra stated.

It stated there is no recommendation of the state government for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list. There is no recommendation for such inclusion pending before the central government, it added.

"Merely because the State of Manipur may have received some representation by the Meeteis/Meiteis does not oblige the State to do anything unless it is convinced first, that they are tribes and second, that they deserve to be in the Scheduled Tribes list," it said.

The petitioner said the High Court's order was bad in law and passed without considering sensitivity around the said issue in the state. The HAC, which was a necessary and proper party to the matter, was not heard at all by the High Court, a fact, which vitiated the order further, he contended.

He pointed out following the HC's order, scores of tribal people have been killed in the violent clashes, resulting in a blockage, total power cut and internet shutdown.

The plea sought immediate stay on the order and issue directions for deployment of central forces to restore law and order with use of minimum force against the people.

Acting on a writ petition, a single judge bench of Justice M V Muralidaran has on March 27 directed the Manipur government to consider case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period four weeks.