Supreme Court declines plea seeking Indian army protection for Kukis
HY News
11 July, 2023 04:58 pm IST
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The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to issue directions to the Indian Army and paramilitary forces to provide security in tribal areas in Manipur.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra emphasized that in the 72 years of its existence, the Supreme Court has never issued directions to the Indian Army on how to conduct military, security or rescue operations.
The Court underlined that the greatest hallmark of democracy was civilian control over the army and hence it could not breach that, The Bar & Bench reported.
"In last 72 years we have never issued such directions to the Indian army. The greatest hallmark of democracy is civilian control over the army and we cannot breach that," the Court said.
The Court further explained that the maintenance of law and order as well as the preservation of the security of the State, fell within the domain of the elected government and it would be inappropriate for the Court to issue directives to the Army and paramilitary forces. Hence, the Court cannot issue directives on where a particular battalion of soldiers has to be deployed etc.
The Court said it would impress upon the central government and state government of Manipur to ensure arrangements to protect the lives of citizens of the state.
In the meantime, Chief Secretary Vineet Joshi said Manipur government told Supreme Court on Monday that a total of 142 people has been killed in the violence in Manipur over the past two months. The Chief Secretary said as many as 5,995 FIRs have been filed and 6,745 people taken into custody to keep the situation under control. Six cases have been transferred to the CBI for further probe, the state government told the court.
As many as 5,000 incidents or arson have taken place in the state since May and Imphal East and Imphal West districts have reported the maximum deaths, the report said.
The state government listed the steps it has taken to maintain law and order. Security deployment, it said, is being reviewed daily and an SOP has been put in place to tackle any emergency. As many as 124 coys of paramilitary forces and 184 Army columns are on the ground to keep the peace, the state government told the court.
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