By K Raveendran
The Supreme Court last week came down heavily on the Modi government for taking ‘extreme stands’ against non-BJP rules states while doing nothing in the case of constitutional violations by its own governments in the other states. But as one would have expected, the stricture came not in relation to Manipur, where ethnic clashes with a certain communal colour have claimed over 100 lives, but in connection with an issue concerning Nagaland.
The apex court’s concern was about the failure of the Nagaland government to take steps to implement the constitutional scheme of one-third reservation for women in municipal and town council elections. A bench comprising Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia noted that the central government cannot wash its hand off the issue especially when the political dispensation in the state is in line with that at the Centre.
“I refuse to let your hands off. You take extreme stands against other state governments who are not amenable to you, but your own state government is violating constitutional provision and you do not want to say something,” Justice Kaul said.
It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court refused to show the same sense of urgency in the case of Manipur violence. As far back as May 6, a number of public interest litigations were brought before the court seeking the protection of the fundamental rights of lakhs of citizens in the wake of a complete failure of law and order machinery. The court hesitated to act decisively, satisfying itself with the assurances made on behalf o the government. Timely action would have saved a number of lives and prevented the situation from taking the ugly turn it has taken since then. The court has since taken suo moto cognizance of the situation, but much damage has already been done.
The apex court has since taken a very serious view of the Manipur situation and concluded that there has been an absolute breakdown of constitutional machinery in the state for the past two months. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who is heading the bench hearing the case, said there has been a delay in FIRs being registered and statements being recorded. The court has also demanded the personal presence of the Manipur Director General of Police during the next hearing on Monday.
The Supreme Court stand is no doubt decisive, but it has come a bit too late. In this respect, there is a certain lack of consistency on the part of the apex court in making timely interventions. There had been much dithering in the case of the great reverse migration in the wake of the national lockdown when the court initially was content with accepting the government’s arguments before finally taking the plunge and forcing a hesitant government to act and it was the court’s crucial intervention that retrieved the situation. The same was the case with Covid vaccination, in which the government sought to wriggle out of its responsibilities.
The Modi government has similarly been dilly-dallying on the Manipur issue, refusing to take corrective action for the sake of political expediency, but in the process causing great damage to be done in maintaining communal harmony and national integration. Even while feigning to be concerned about the ‘heinous’ offences, the government had asked the Supreme Court to order the completion of trial in all the cases within a time span of six months. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the court has refused to fall for the government’s bait. In fact, the Chief Justice had given the Centre and the Manipur government an ultimatum to either bring the perpetrators to book or step aside for the judiciary to take action.
The victims of the rape and naked parade had filed a petition with the top court against the Centre and the state government seeking directions to ensure a fair and impartial investigation of the case. Instead of the CBI probe, they wanted an independent special investigation team to investigate the heinous crime. In consideration of the women’s demand, the court restrained the CBI from taking statements of the survivors.
It is increasingly becoming evident that there has been ‘collaboration’ between the Manipur police and the mob in the sexually assault and parading of the women and the viral video of the crime. It is alleged that the police, instead of taking the women away from the mob abandoned them to their fate, indicating complete breakdown of law and order. (IPA Service)
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