03 August, 2023. The Manipur High Court, after an urgent hearing at 5 am on Thursday, ordered status quo to be maintained with respect to the proposed land where bodies of Kuki community members killed in the recent caste clashes would be mass-accused. to be buried properly.
“The interim order is passed keeping in view the possibility of deterioration of the already unstable law and order situation and the possibility of a fresh wave of violence and bloodshed arising out of the gathering of large crowds from either side,” the court said.
However, a potentially violent clash between groups of the Meitei and Kuki-zo tribes was averted today following a court order.
The Kuki-Zo tribes plan to bury about 35 bodies of victims of the ethnic conflict at Torbung. The region had witnessed intense violence in May and June. The valley-majority Meitei people opposed the mass burial, as they suspected that the Kuki-tribe would claim the new land by turning it into a ‘memorial site’. After this, the Meitei civil society group filed a petition in the High Court overnight. During this, large groups of Meitei people started moving towards the place of burial of dead bodies as a protest. The Kukis had excavated here. In such a situation an unstable situation has arisen. All this happened on Wednesday midnight.
MV Muraleedharan, Acting Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, immediately heard the petition and passed an order at 6 am to maintain peace. The High Court ordered the Center and the State Government to ensure that the status quo is maintained by both the sides on the burial site dispute. The court ordered the authorities to take effective steps to maintain law and order. Also asked all the parties involved in the dispute to settle the matter peacefully.
The court also told representatives of the Kuki-Zo tribes that they can seek land from the government to bury the dead within a week. This petition was filed on behalf of the International Meitei Forum.
The Kuki-Zo tribes plan to bury about 35 bodies of victims of the ethnic conflict at Torbung. The region had witnessed intense violence in May and June. The valley-majority Meitei people opposed the mass burial, as they suspected that the Kuki-tribe would claim the new land by turning it into a ‘memorial site’. After this, the Meitei civil society group filed a petition in the High Court overnight. During this, large groups of Meitei people started moving towards the place of burial of dead bodies as a protest. The Kukis had excavated here. In such a situation an unstable situation has arisen. All this happened on Wednesday midnight.
MV Muraleedharan, Acting Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, immediately heard the petition and passed an order at 6 am to maintain peace. The High Court ordered the Center and the State Government to ensure that the status quo is maintained by both the sides on the burial site dispute. The court ordered the authorities to take effective steps to maintain law and order. Also asked all the parties involved in the dispute to settle the matter peacefully.
The court also told representatives of the Kuki-Zo tribes that they can seek land from the government to bury the dead within a week. This petition was filed on behalf of the International Meitei Forum.
At 5 am, the government’s counsel went to the official residence of the Acting Chief Justice in Imphal and requested to take up the matter immediately. Because both sides were face to face for violence. There was a possibility of violence breaking out at any time. Accepting the request, the Acting Chief Justice heard the matter at 6 am and passed interim orders. Now the next hearing of the case has been fixed on August 9.
First Justice A. Bimol Singh and Justice A. The case was to be heard before the special bench of Guneshwar Sharma. But Justice A. Bimol Singh was unable to preside over the hearing due to personal inconvenience. In such a situation, a bench of Acting Chief Justice MV Muralidharan and Justice Guneshwar Sharma heard the case.
During the hearing, Deputy Solicitor General of India Samarjit informed the court that the Central Government has already deployed additional Central Armed Police Forces and Army personnel on the request of the State Government to handle the tense situation.