Manipur High Court overturns decision to include Meitei community in ST List

Imphal: The Manipur High Court recently issued an order to remove a paragraph from its March 2023 order that had urged the state to consider including the Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list. 

The court stated that the paragraph in question conflicted with the constitutional bench stance of the Supreme Court. 

During a review petition hearing on Wednesday, a single-judge bench of Justice Golmei Gaiphulshillu rescinded the March 27, 2023 directive, which was believed to have triggered ethnic unrest that caused over 200 fatalities.

The contentious paragraph from last year's verdict that instructed the state to expedite consideration of Meitei community inclusion was deemed for deletion. This decision has been met with mixed reactions from the Meitei community and other groups.

The paragraph of last year's verdict stated the state government "shall consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list, expeditiously, preferably within a period of four weeks" from the date of receipt of the order.

Justice Gaiphulshillu's ruling on February 21 emphasised the necessity of removing the directive, pointing to the Government of India's stipulated procedure for Scheduled Tribe list amendments.

Justice Gaiphulshillu said, "Accordingly, the direction given at para no. 17(iii) needs to be deleted and ordered accordingly for deletion of para no. 17(iii) of the judgment and order dated March 27, 2023...”.

Referring to the constitutional protocol detailed in the Ministry of Tribal Affairs' 2013-14 report, the court highlighted the need for alignment with the Supreme Court's constitutional interpretation.

"...I am satisfied and of the view that the direction given at Para no. 17(iii) of the single judge dated March 27, 2023...which is impugned herein needs to be reviewed, as the direction given at para no. 17(iii) of the single judge is against the observation made in the constitution bench of the Supreme Court," the high court said in its 19-page verdict.

The high court's verdict emphasized the legal constraints on judicial intervention regarding Scheduled Tribe classifications, as cited by a constitutional bench ruling in November 2000.

"Courts cannot and should not expand jurisdiction to deal with the question as to whether a particular caste, sub-caste; a group or part of tribe or sub-tribe is included in any one of the Entries mentioned in the Presidential Orders issued under Article 341 and 342 particularly so when in Clause (2) of the said Article, it is expressly stated that said orders cannot be amended or varied except by law made by Parliament" the verdict of Supreme Court's Constitution bench in November 2000 said.

The constitution bench had elucidated that courts should not overstep their jurisdiction in determining such categorisations.

Following the eruption of violence post the March 27 order, a series of petitions, including challenges to the high court directive, were presented to the Supreme Court.

The apex court, on May 17 of the same year, denounced the high court's directive as "obnoxious" and considered staying the order due to its perceived inaccuracies.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud had said, "I will tell you (lawyers) one thing that the high court order was incorrect... I think we have to stay the order of the high court. The high court order is absolutely wrong."

The Supreme Court bench stated that it would not handle the legal matters that have arisen due to the Manipur High Court's decision on reserving seats for the majority Meitei community. 

This is because the petitions challenging the order are still pending with the larger division bench there. The Supreme Court has not addressed the core legal issues surrounding the Manipur High Court's decision as the challenges are still under consideration by the larger division bench. 

The Court has invited tribal participation, particularly from Kukis, in the ongoing legal proceedings related to the intra-court appeals.

The violent unrest in Manipur, triggered by dissent over the Meitei community's Scheduled Tribe status aspiration, underscores the complex demographic fabric of the region.

Meiteis account for about 53 per cent of Manipur's population and live mostly in the Imphal Valley, while tribals, which include Nagas and Kukis, constitute 40 per cent and reside mainly in the hill districts.