Supreme Court Extends Protection Granted To Advocate From Arrest In FIR Over Fact-Finding Mission On Manipur Violence

The Supreme Court on Friday extended the interim protection granted to Advocate Deeksha Dwivedi, who was booked in an FIR over offences of sedition and conspiracy to wage war against India, after she accompanied a fact finding team to enquire into the ongoing Manipur violence, till the next date of hearing in the matter. The court could not hear the matter today owing to the absence of the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, who was representing the State in the matter. The matter has been listed next for July 17, 2023.  

The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice PS Narasimha, and Justice Manoj Misra was hearing the plea filed by Dwivedi, an advocate against whom an FIR was registered by the Manipur police alleging offences of sedition, conspiracy to wage war against India etc, after she took part in a fact-finding mission regarding Manipur violence and held a press conference as part of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW). In the last hearing, the Supreme Court had granted her interim protection from arrest.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave was appearing for Dwivedi in the matter. Upon noting the absence of the SG, CJI DY Chandrachud said to Dave–

"One option that you have is that we can extend the interim protection and give you liberty to approach the High Court."

However, Dave responded–

"The High Court is shut for the present time. The interim stay is only till 5 pm today."

To this, the CJI dictated the following order–

"The Solicitor General of India appears for the respondents. To enable the court the benefits of the submissions of the respondents, we list the matter on Monday. The interim order is extended till the next date of hearing."

As per press reports, CPI leader and National Federation of Indian Women General Secretary Annie Raja and Nisha Siddhu are named as other accused persons in the FIR, which was lodged on a complaint by an individual named S Liben Singh. The complainant took objection to the accused terming the Manipur violence as "state-sponsored".

Case Title: Deeksha Dwivedi v. The State Of Manipur And Anr. W.P.(Crl.) No. 298/2023