Manipur violence: SC declines Kuki groups’ request to provide them with Army protection

New Delhi [India], July 11 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined the plea of the Manipur Tribal Forum seeking protection of the Kuki tribe by the Indian Army in the State.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra said that in the 72 years of its existence, the Supreme Court has never issued directions to the Indian Army on how to conduct military, security or rescue operations.
"In the last 72 years, we have never issued such directions to the Indian army. The greatest hallmark of democracy is civilian control over the army and we cannot breach that," the bench said.
The bench said it after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves appearing for the Kuki group sought direction to provide security by Army to Kukis.
The top court said that the maintenance of law and order as well as the preservation of the security of the State, fell within the domain of the elected government and it would not be appropriate for the court to issue directives to the Army and paramilitary forces.
Hence, the Court cannot issue directives on “where a particular battalion of soldiers has to be deployed etc.”
However, it directed the Central and State governments to ensure there was the protection of life and liberty of all the citizens in Manipur.
Rejecting the plea of the Kuki group to provide them security by Army, the bench said, "However, we impress upon State and Union of India to ensure there is the protection of life and liberty of people in Manipur, where exactly a particular battalion will be etc. is a dangerous area for us to get into.”
While hearing petitions relating to violence in Manipur, that broke out on May 3, directed the Manipur Government to act upon certain suggestions made by petitioners to mitigate the situation.
The parties today submitted some suggestions to the court after the apex court yesterday asked petitioners to give constructive suggestions on the affidavit filed by the Manipur government.
The top court today accepted some suggestions and asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to look into them.
The bench asked the administration to consider the inclusion of Kuki tribe MLAs in the committee to oversee relief camps and ensure proper facilities and removal of blockage on the National Highway.
It further sought an action taken report from the State on the directions within a week.
On Monday it asked Kuki and Meitei groups to refrain from leveling allegations and using the court as a platform to escalate the volatile situation in Manipur.
The cautionary remarks of the apex court came after senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the Kuki group, made repeated attempts to claim that the violence against the Kuki community was state-sponsored.
The top court seized the cases relating to the violence in Manipur and sought status reports from the Centre and State on the relief and rehabilitation efforts for the people affected by the violence between Meitei and Kuki communities.
Earlier, the top court expressed concern over the loss of lives and properties in Manipur during the violence between the Meitei and Kuki communities and stressed taking adequate measures to restore normalcy there.
On March 27, the High Court directed the State to consider the inclusion of the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list.
The violence in Manipur between the Hindu Meiteis and the tribal Kuki, who are Christians, erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3.
Violence has gripped the entire State for over a month now and the Central government had to deploy paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control.