Manipur lawyers demand withdrawal of ban on Meitei SC judge’s Churachandpur visit

The All Manipur Bar Association (AMBA) has urged its Churachandpur district counterpart to withdraw its directive preventing a Meitei judge of the Supreme Court from visiting the Kuki-Zo-dominated area.
    
A six-member Supreme Court delegation, comprising Justice B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, M M Sundresh, K V Vishwanathan and N Kotiswar Singh, is scheduled to visit the ethnic violence-hit northeastern state on Saturday. They will distribute relief materials in the Churachandpur district during the visit.
    
Justice N Kotiswar Singh belongs to the Meitei community.
    
The AMBA has urged the Churachandpur District Bar Association to welcome the judge’s visit, emphasising that it is not politically motivated.
    
Reacting to the AMBA appeal, the Churachandpur District Bar Association said its notice barring the Meitei judge from entering the district was not driven by ill feelings, but issued in consideration of public sentiment.
   
 “There is no ill intention against the Meitei community, especially the judges. The situation compelled us to issue the statement. Civil bodies had asked for clarification regarding the visit, and we issued the directive to prevent any unwanted incidents,” Grace Chiinhoihniang, the president of the Churachandpur-based lawyers’ body, told PTI.
    
“This is purely for the safety of the judge. People are emotional, and given the ongoing ethnic crisis in the state, tensions are high,” she said.
    
The request by the AMBA comes days after the Churachandpur-based lawyers’ body stated that “Lordships belonging to the Meitei community, in the interests of peace and public order, shall not step into our district”.
   
 AMBA president Puyam Tomcha Meitei told PTI that the visit of the Supreme Court judges is historic and first-of-its-kind.

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“As a legal body, it is very unfortunate that the Churachandpur District Bar Association has issued a directive barring a Meitei judge from entering an integral part of the country. Even politically oriented bodies seeking separate administration have not objected to the visit,” he said.
    
He said the judges’ visit is purely on humanitarian grounds, aimed at assessing the hardships faced by internally displaced persons living in relief camps.
    
“It should be warmly welcomed. The directive prohibiting a Meitei judge of the Supreme Court from entering Churachandpur is unethical,” the AMBA chief asserted.
   
 “We urge them to withdraw the directive and embrace the visit,” he added.
    
Chiinhoihniang, however, said that on a personal level, they would love to see Justice Kotiswar, as he is someone from Manipur who has reached the esteemed position of a Supreme Court judge.
   
“We are very happy for him. I have known him since his tenure as Advocate General of Manipur,” she added.
    
More than 250 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.