New Delhi, May 8.
The central government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that the situation in violence-hit Manipur was under control and urged the top court not to wade into the contentious issue of reservations for now to avoid making the situation worse.
“There has been no violence for the last two days,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud after it expressed “concern over the loss of life and property in the state”. The bench also comprised Justices P.S. Narasimha and J.B. Pardiwala.
“Curfew is being relaxed for two to three hours,” he said. There has been extensive deployment of defence forces and the situation is returning to normal, the SG said. A special security advisor has been appointed, he said.
Relief camps had been set up for the stranded people. Peace committees have been formed, he said.
The court can take up the reservation issue at a later point of time, the SG said. May be after a week or 10 days, he said.
CJI Chandrachud expressed concern over the loss of life in the violence and asked the government to take all humanitarian measures to ensure that those fleeing the violence return to their homes. Mehta assured that this would be done “seamlessly” and “safely”.
The CJI also urged the government to protect places of worship. These have been attacked in the recent bout of violence that has swept through the state. Mehta assured the court that life and property of citizens would be protected.
The CJI referred pleas by senior advocates Colin Gonsalves and Sanjay Hegde for urgent evacuation of some people who are hiding in the forests to the SG.
“We are deeply concerned by the loss of life and property. The SG is saying that the government is doing everything to restore peace. We have no reason of doubting this.”
Gonsalves tried to point out that everything was not fine yet but the court told him to not argue anything that would affect the peace of the ground. Instead, the bench said that it would hear all related pleas again on May 17, 2023.
Before concluding the hearing, the CJI asked the government to set up adequate relief camps to house and feed all the displaced.
The court is hearing a plea by a BJP MLA against the High Court decision to ask the state government to include the Meitei community as a Scheduled Tribe in the state. The BJP MLA had blamed the High Court decision for the recent violence.
