'Operative part of HC order on Meitei ST issue still stands'
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, February 23 2024:
High Court of Manipur Advocate Ningombam Bupenda Meitei has categorically stated that the operative part of the High Court of Manipur's judgment and order passed on March 27, 2023 still stands.
As per the High Court's judgment and order, the State Government must submit a recommendation in reply to a letter sent by Ministry of Tribal Affairs to the Government of Manipur in May 2013 on the issue of Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status.
Advocate Bupenda stressed on the need to read the two judgments arising from Writ Petition No.229 of 2023 and Review Petition No.12 of 2023 together, instead of reading only one judgment and interpreting it partially.
He argued that as per the High Court's judgment on Writ Petition No.229 of 2023, there are four clauses in Para 17, and in that very Para 17, which is the operative part of the judgment, only Para 17 cause (iii) stands deleted in the recent judgment of the High Court in Review Petition No.12 of 2023 .
The Review Petition judgment didn't delete the remaining clauses (i), (ii) and (iv), and more importantly Para 17 clause (ii) still survives in the Writ Petition No.229 of 2023 .
Para 17 clause (ii) of the Writ Petition judgment says "The first respondent is directed to submit the recommendation in reply to the letter dated 29.5.2013 of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India" .
In the said Writ Petition, the first respondent is the State of Manipur.
So, it is still operative to say that the State Government of Manipur is directed by the High Court's judgment and order of Writ Petition No.229 of 2023, in its Para 17(ii), to submit the recommendation in reply to the letter of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs sent to the State Government of Manipur on Meitei ST issue in 2013 .
He further argued that a mere recommendation by the State Government is not akin to inclusion of Meitei in ST list as the enlistment is to be done by Parliament only through a Constitutional amendment.
He also pointed out that the High Court has rightly deleted Para 17 (iii) of the Writ Petition through the Review Petition because the said Para was going against the law already settled by Constitution Bench on the authority and jurisdiction of Parliament only to decide on the enlisting or delisting of communities from ST category.
Para 17(iii) of the High Court judgment and order says, "The first respondent (State Government) shall consider the case of the petitioners for inclusion of the Meetei/Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribe list, expeditiously, preferably within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order in terms of the averments set out in the writ petition and in the line of the order passed in WP(C) No 4281 of 2002 dated 26.05.2003 by the Gauhati High Court" .
He further pointed out that neither the Supreme Court nor the High Court has any authority to include or exclude a community in the Scheduled Tribe list, as that authority lies only with the Parliament.