New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (December 11) declined to entertain a fresh public interest litigation (PIL) seeking the Union’s intervention to restore law and order in Manipur amidst ethnic violence.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra noted senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan's submissions who appeared on behalf of the petitioners.

The bench, according to India Today, said the committee chaired by Justice (retired) Gita Mittal was already looking into the issues related to the violence and other aspects.

“There was a need for a committee which can get all the communities to the table,” the senior advocate countered.

Kuki civil society organisations, Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum (ITLF) and Committee on Tribal Unity (COTU), had expressed dissatisfaction and denied that the committee had contacted them at all.

In a press release last week, the Kuki organisations had said that the committee only met with a few tribal leaders in the hill areas and ignored the leading civil society organisations of the Kuki community.

Also read: Manipur SC-Appointed Committee: Kuki Groups Claim No Dialogue With Them, Deny Report’s Findings

The bench, however, directed the petitioners – Yumlembam Surjit Singh, Keisham Arish and Laishram Momo Singh – to approach the Gita Mittal Committee.

“This court has already constituted a committee chaired by Justice (retired) Gita Mittal. It's open to make a representation to the committee. At this stage, we believe that broad and general reliefs would not result in anything,” the bench said.

“The instant petition in Public Interest is being filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India seeking directions to the Union of India to restore law and order, and peace in the State of Manipur and also to constitute an expert committee to prepare a detailed report on the root cause of the issue and suggest possible remedial measures. The present petition is being filed to protect and secure fundamental rights of the people of Manipur guaranteed under Article 21, 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India,” the plea said.

The Supreme Court is already hearing petitions on ethnic violence in Manipur and had established the Gita Mittal committee in August to assess the situation and suggest remedial measures. The committee had submitted its initial findings later that month.

In September, while hearing petitioners who were unsatisfied with the committee’s working, the top court had said, “Either we scrap the committee and hear the matter or you [petitioners] trust the committee ... We do not intend to run the Manipur administration… You allow the process to work out.”

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