New Delhi: The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the Manipur government of N. Biren Singh over its failure to provide necessary treatment to an imprisoned man over the fact that he belonged to the Kuki community.
Manipur has, since May last year, been embroiled in strife between the majority Meitei community and the Kuki-Zo minority. Although the degree of violence has lessened, the rift between the two communities has left the state severely divided with access to some areas de facto banned for members of a particular community.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan on July 3 asked the Biren government to immediately make necessary arrangements to take the accused to Gauhati Medical College in Assam and get him examined there, LiveLaw has reported.
The court has asked for all expenses to be borne by the state government and set a deadline of July 15 for concerned officials to place the relevant details on record.
The court said that it has noticed something “very disturbing.” It mentioned how despite the fact that the petitioner was suffering from piles and tuberculosis, and that the medical officer’s recommendation of an x-ray could not be followed in the Manipur Central Jail, the high court had said that the petitioner cannot be taken out of jail as he belongs to the Kuki community and “it would be hazardous because of the law and order situation.”
“We do not trust the state. The accused was not taken to the hospital because he is from the Kuki community. So sad! We direct him to be examined now. If the medical report reveals something serious, we will take you to task,” PTI quoted the court as having said.
The LiveLaw report noted that the apex court said that it could also have made observations on the approach of the high court, along with the state government, but refrained from doing so.
