SC refuses to entertain PIL seeking SIT probe into Manipur violence

PTI, Jul 31, 2023, 12:12 PM IST

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a fresh PIL on the Manipur violence seeking among other things a SIT probe into alleged poppy cultivation and narco-terrorism. It asked for a ”more specific” petition and said this one was ”very difficult” to entertain because it blamed only one community. Senior advocate Madhavi Diwan, appearing for the petitioner Mayanglambam Bobby Meetei, sought to withdraw the plea and was allowed to do so. “This petition is very difficult to entertain because it places blame on one community,” said the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandcrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.

“You can come with a more specific petition. This petition has everything from the violence to narcotics to deforestation,” the bench said.

Diwan referred to cross-border terrorism and poppy cultivation in the state as responsible for the recent violence. The plea made the Narcotics Control Bureau, the National Investigation Agency and the NHRC as well as the state government among others as parties. The bench has before it a clutch of other petitions pertaining to several aspects of Manipur violence.

At least 150 people have been killed and several hundred injured since ethnic violence broke out in the state on May 3 when a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ was organised in the hill districts to protest against the majority Meitei community’s demand for Scheduled Tribe status.