Manipur BJP MLA moves to Supreme Court against Manipur HC order on Meitei inclusion in Scheduled Tribe list

In the midst of ongoing clashes in Manipur, Dinganglung Gangmei, the chairman of the Hill Area Committee (HAC) of Manipur Legislative Assembly, has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Manipur High Court's order to include the Meitei or Meetei community in the Scheduled Tribe (ST) list. 

In his plea, Gangmei argued that the Meetei/Meitei community is not a tribe and has never been recognised as such. He also stated that they are "advanced," although some of them come within the Scheduled Caste (SC) or Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

According to the petitioner, there is no recommendation from the state government for the inclusion of the community in the ST list, and no recommendation for such inclusion is pending before the Centre either. The petition argues that directing the state government to recommend a tribe for the Scheduled Tribes List falls solely within the jurisdiction of the state and not the High Court.

Gangmei's petition claimed that the High Court's order has resulted in unrest in Manipur and has caused the death of 19 people. 

He argued that the High Court made three errors in its decision, including giving directions to the state government to submit a recommendation to the Central Government for the inclusion of Meitei or Meetei community in the Scheduled Tribe in the Presidential list, the issue of inclusion of the Meetei or Meitei community being pending for nearly 10 years, and the assertion that the Meitei/Meetei are tribes.