Manipur Violence | High Court Doesn't Have Power To Direct State Government To Recommend A Tribe For ST List, Remarks Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday orally remarked that the High Court of Manipur did not have the remit to direct the state government to recommend a tribe for the Scheduled Tribes List. The remark came while a bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice JB Pardiwala was hearing the matters pertaining to the ongoing unrest in the State of Manipur. 

The bench was considering two petitions - one, a petition filed by Manipur Tribal Forum Delhi seeking SIT probe into the violence and relief for the victims and; two, another petition filed by Chairman of the Hill Areas Committee (HAC) of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, Dinganglung Gangmei, challenging the direction of the Manipur High Court to consider the inclusion of Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list. It may be noted that the issue related to ST status for Meitei triggered the riots in the state last week.

Gangmei's petition argued that directing the state government to recommend a tribe for the Scheduled Tribes List does not fall within the jurisdiction of the High Court. 

Before the Supreme Court, Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde was appearing for the original petitioner(before the High Court) in the matter. During the hearing, the bench said that there were several judgments of the Supreme Court which held that the High Court could not direct the grant of ST status to a community. CJI Chandrachud said that the petitioner was duty bound to bring those judgments to the notice of the High Court.

"You never told the HC that it does not have this power- it's a Presidential power", the CJI told Hegde. CJI Chandrachud referred to the decision in State of Maharashtra versus Milind which hold that the State governments or courts or tribunals or any other authority cannot modify, amend or alter the list of Scheduled Tribes specified in the notification issued under clause (1) of Article 342.

CJI Chandrachud also took exception to the High Court issuing a peremptory direction by saying that the the State "shall consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list".

A single judge bench of acting Chief Justice M.V. Muralidaran of the Manipur High Court, through its impugned order, had directed that the State shall consider the inclusion of Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes list. The said order is at the centre of the current unrest going on in Manipur. The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the State of Manipur was taking appropriate steps in respect of the said order by moving the competent forum in that regard.

The petition filed by Gangmei argues that the impugned order has resulted in the unrest in Manipur that has caused the death of 19 people. As per the petition -

"Due to the impugned order tension between both the community have taken place and violent clashes have erupted across the state. As a result of it so far 19 tribal people have been killed, various places in the states are blocked, internet is completely shutdown and more people are at the risk of losing their lives."