New Delhi: The Manipur government has strongly objected to a submission from the lawyer of a Supreme Court-appointed panel that there is an outbreak of measles and chicken pox in the state’s relief camps, along with a shortage of rations and other essentials.
In an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court Tuesday, the Biren Singh government said that the submission by the panel’s lawyer was “false” and made without “confirming or discussing” with the state. The Manipur government also gave out details of the steps it has taken to ensure adequate availability of food and other essentials in the relief camps.
Manipur’s affidavit was placed before the CJI’s bench Wednesday when the latter took up a batch of petitions related to the clashes in the northeastern state.
There was a tense moment in court when panel counsel, senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, registered her objections to the contents of the affidavit, filed by the state’s Chief Secretary. She said the submissions “seemed like a direct attack” on her and that she would recuse herself from the matter. She left the court after making her submission.
Meanwhile, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for Manipur, clarified that the affidavit stated facts that he “would not delete” and that there was no “observation about the counsel, no comment, no assertion”.
On 7 August, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud had appointed a three-member all-women judges’ panel to monitor the rehabilitation work undertaken in Manipur post the violent ethnic clashes in the state between the Kuki and Meitei communities. The panel’s mandate also includes taking steps necessary for disbursement of compensation to the victims and their families.
The panel is headed by former Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Gita Mittal and the other two members are Bombay High Court judge Justice Shalini Phansalkar Joshi and Delhi High Court judge Justice Asha Menon.
During the last hearing on 1 September, committee counsel Arora, had brought to the court’s notice that residents in some relief camps did not have basic essentials and that there was an outbreak of measles and chickenpox.
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What Manipur’s affidavit said
Manipur’s affidavit said that per the mechanism set out in the court’s 7 August order, any issues found by the panel “may be first brought to the notice of the concerned government” so that the state could work towards resolving them.
It added that the counsel’s submission about the outbreak of measles and chicken pox and the shortage of rations was “made without any factual verification” or “consultation” with the state government. This, the affidavit said, had created “panic”.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta referred to the affidavit to say that there was no outbreak of chicken post or measles and that only one case of chickenpox had been found long back.
“So far as food supply is concerned, we have stated in an affidavit by the Chief Secretary that consistently from the beginning…food and essential items like medicine have been continuously supplied, and at times when the situation demanded, it was airlifted, much before the last order,” he told the court.
The affidavit detailed the steps that had been taken to provide essentials and food to the relief camps, and listed the status of petroleum, oil, and lubricants stocks in the state and in the violence-affected districts.
“From the same, it is clear that the claims made by the learned counsel for the committee and other applicants/petitioners during the course of hearing were without factual basis. It is unfortunate that the platform of this court, despite the availability of the good offices of the committee and the government, is being mis-utilised,” read the affidavit.
It also asked the court to take serious note and disallow any such attempts in future, considering the “sensitivity of situation and purity of court proceedings.”
Without delving deeper into the issue, the bench clarified in its order that the reference in Manipur’s affidavit to the “counsel (of the committee) appearing before this court shall not be construed as any comment on the conduct of the counsel.”
The bench ordered: “This court reiterates the well-settled principle that counsel appearing before the court do so as officers of the court and are responsible only to the court for the conduct.”
Manipur’s affidavit also dealt with the alleged restriction of movement of goods vehicles along Imphal-Moreh route, a grievance that was raised by the petitioners on 1 August. It said the government has used alternate routes to supply essential items.
With regard to damage of religious institutions, the state said the petitioners had highlighted destruction of places of worship belonging to a particular community. As a state, Manipur said, it has maintained a neutral stand and claimed that as on date 386 religious institutions of both the communities had suffered damage. Assessment for an accurate figure, it added, is ongoing.
‘We are not concerned with who looted’
The Supreme Court bench Wednesday also asked the Manipur government to take action against the proliferation of illegal arms in the state, regardless of the affiliations of those who possess or use them. The bench also asked the state to submit a status report on the matter.
When counsel appearing for the two communities accused each other of looting weapons and using them in the conflict, the bench said: “We are not concerned with who looted… we are not concerned with the source of the wrongdoing. We are concerned with the fact that there has to be accountability for wrongdoing.”
It further noted that “irrespective of the source of the human suffering, everybody has to be dealt with on a uniform basis”.
“Even for disarmament, we are not concerned with if there are illegal arms on one side or the other. We are dealing with this objectively. The state has to take action irrespective of the source where the illegal arms are situated”, the CJI said.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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