Held for FB post, Erendro freed after SC order
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 19 2021: Leichomba Erendro, who was lodged in Sajiwa Jail under the National Security Act (NSA), has been released by the jail authority after the Supreme Court of India ordered that he should be release within 5 pm Monday.

Erendro was arrested by a team of Imphal police station on May 13 after he posted "The cure for Corona is not cow dung & cow urine.

The cure is science & common sense.

Professor ji RIP," on his Facebook page.

The post was uploaded shortly after the death of BJP Manipur Pradesh president due to Covid-19 .

He was kept in police custody for few days and granted bail by the District Court on May 17 only to be rearrested and slapped NSA.

In connection with the case, Erendro's father L Raghumani had filed a petition at the Supreme Court for his release stating that the government of Manipur had misused preventive detention law to arrest Erendro under NSA so as to stifle completely innocuous speech that is fully constitutionally protected and was made in public interest.

The final hearing of petition was conducted by a bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah on Monday.

After deliberation, the bench ordered release of L Erendro by 5 pm of Monday.

Officials said that Erendro (40) was released from the Central Jail on Monday afternoon as a division bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah ordered his release.

Ruling that a person cannot be kept in jail even for a day for such an act, Justice Chandrachud said: "He cannot be kept in jail even for a day.

We will order his release today".

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for his part, requested the bench to list the matter for Tuesday.

However, the bench did not budge and said the court will grant interim relief now itself.

The bench said: "We are of the view that continued detention of the petitioner would be a violation of right to life and personal liberty under Article 21.We accordingly direct that the petitioner shall be released forthwith subject to interim directions of this court and subject to further orders" .

The court directed its Registrar (Judicial) to communicate the order to Manipur Central Jail for release of the activist before 5 p.m.on Monday.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that he would press for compensation at the next hearing.

The Supreme Court order came as it heard a petition filed by Erendro's father, L Raghumani Singh, stating that the detention of the activist is a reprisal for his criticism against BJP leaders.

"Erendro, a Manipuri political activist, has been preventively detained solely to punish him for his criticism of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders for advocating cow dung and cow urine as cures for Covid," said the petition.

Erendro and Wangkhem Wangthoi, 41, (alias Kishorchandra) were initially arrested by the police on May 13 for their Facebook post on the complaint of BJP leaders.

On May 17, the day duo was granted bail by the Imphal Chief Judicial Magistrate, the Imphal West District Magistrate Th Kirankumar, detained them under the stringent NSA.

The plea in the Supreme Court also said that Erendro has already spent 45 days in custody for an "innocuous piece of speech" .

A complaint was filed against Erendro by Manipur state BJP Vice President Usham Deben and General Secretary P Premananda Meetei, accusing him and Wangthoi of posting "offensive comments" referring to the death of state BJP President Saik-hom Tikendra Singh, who succumbed to Covid-19 at a hospital in Imphal on May 13.Erendro and Wangthoi had been arrested twice earlier on charges of sedition and for making various posts on social media against the government.

Erendro, educated abroad, is the founder of the People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance, a political party whose candidate in the 2017 Manipur elections included rights activist Irom Sharmila.

He had also unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls in 2017.Rights activists and various Manipur-based organisations and elsewhere in the country had then criticised the government for "overreacting" .

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