Manipur High Court allows tribal bodies to appeal against order on ST status for Meiteis

The Manipur High Court on October 20 allowed tribal bodies in the state to appeal against the controversial March 27 order, which had instructed the State government to send a recommendation on granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to Meiteis, a move that ignited ethnic tensions and led to tragic violence.

A Division Bench comprising Justices Ahanthem Bimol Singh and A. Guneshwar Sharma issued this order on October 19, acknowledging the nature of grievances raised by tribal bodies and arguments from various parties. This ruling clears the path for tribal bodies' appeal to be considered and heard in court.

The contentious order, initially issued by a single judge Bench led by former Acting Chief Justice M.V. Muralidharan, stemmed from a petition filed by members of the Meitei Tribes Union. They sought to compel the State government to act on their requests for inclusion in the ST list.

Soon after the March 27 order was made public, Manipur witnessed a surge in protests by tribal bodies throughout the state, with one such protest triggering widespread ethnic violence on May 3, leading to the unfortunate loss of at least 180 lives over the past five months.

Within days of the violence outbreak, several tribal bodies from Manipur, led by the All Manipur Tribal Union, approached the Manipur High Court. They sought leave to file a third-party appeal against the controversial order as aggrieved parties.

In the order granting leave to appeal, the court stated, "Taking into consideration the nature of the arguments advanced by the learned counsel appearing for the parties, which need to be examined and decided based on the materials available in the connected writ appeal and writ petition, and taking into consideration the nature of the grievances raised by the applicants, we are inclined to grant leave sought by the applicants in the present application."

Advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the tribal bodies, emphasized that the claim of Meiteis for ST status lacked merit. He argued that the Meiteis had not claimed to be a backward community, a prerequisite for ST status. The tribal bodies also contended that granting ST status to the dominant Meiteis could have far-reaching implications on the rights and benefits of existing Scheduled Tribes.

Furthermore, Mr. Gonsalves stressed that tribal bodies were not initially named as respondents in the initial petition, and if not allowed to appeal, their rights would be adversely affected.

The Union government informed the High Court that it would not object to the tribal bodies' plea to file an appeal. However, the Manipur government opposed their right to appeal, making the same argument as members of the Meitei Tribes Union.

Meanwhile, a review petition filed by members of the Meitei Tribes Union remains pending in the High Court, where tribal bodies have also been made parties. This matter was previously under the jurisdiction of the former Acting Chief Justice Muralidharan.

With the recent transfer of Justice Muralidharan to the Calcutta High Court, the new Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court, Justice Siddharth Mridul, is expected to oversee this contentious issue in the days to come.