CDBA HOLDS SIT IN PROTEST AGAINST MANIPUR CM’S REPORTEDLY COMMUNAL REMARKS AGAINST TRIBAL JUDGES
The Churachandpur District Bar Association (CDBA) organized a sit-in protest on August 22, 2024 at the Wall of Remembrance, Lamka, to show disapproval of the recent unsettling alleged leaked audio of Meitei Chief Minister Biren Singh, wherein he reportedly made communally charged allegations against the Zo tribal judges based on ethnicity. The 48-minute audio reportedly recorded at a meeting at the residence of the Chief Minister last year has been reportedly submitted to the Judicial Inquiry Commission on Manipur Violence (2023), headed by Justice Ajay Lamba. The Wire reported that the people present in the meeting came forward to claim the authenticity of the recording. The sit-in protest was also endorsed by the Kangpokpi District Bar Association.
As per the report on the audio recording by The Wire on August 19, 2024 the Chief Minister slanderously questions the integrity of the judiciary while categorically accusing the Zo tribal judges of ethnic bias, in addition to boasting about how he had sounded an alarm about it a decade ago. The Chief Minister made a communally charged statement against the Zo tribal judges, saying, “If you seize drugs, Judge Haokip, Gangte, they are all there. It is this penetration program that I…10 years back…you would have seen my tweet…in 2013…”
It may be noted that in one of the most high-profile drug bust cases in 2018, an officer of the Manipur Police Service who was then the Additional SP of NAB, Brinda Thounaojam claimed that she was pressured by Chief Minister N Biren Singh to release an arrested drug lord and withdraw the chargesheet filed against him. Subsequently, on January 1, 2019, the Special Judge, NDPS, who at the time belonged to the Meitei community, wrote a letter to the DGP and the Secretary of the Bar Council of Manipur stating that several officials belonging to the Manipur Police and others visited his office and asked him to withdraw the case against the drug lord. The accused was granted bail by the Special Court, NDPS, on December 17, 2020. The ex-Manipur police officer Brinda criticized the acquittal on her social media page on May 26, 2020, for which she was subsequently charged with contempt of court by the Manipur High Court for undermining and criticizing the judiciary.
The remarks made by the Chief Minister in the viral audio recording is not only defamatory to the reputed judicial institutions but also suggest that he could be charged with contempt for undermining and criticizing a judicial judgment without merits but merely based on a slanderous statement. The judiciary is the pillar that plays a key role in upholding the rule of law, protecting citizens’ rights and ensuring that democracy does not cave into dictatorship.
The office of a Chief Minister is a constitutional office, and if the person holding the office makes such communally charged and conflict-abetting remarks against a particular minority community of the State, and undermines the institution of an indispensable pillar of democracy, then it may be gathered that the sanctity of the office in Manipur has been compromised.
During the protest, a placards with messages such as "Judges are not biased on Ethnicity," "Whether a Haokip, Gangte, Naga, or Meitei, a Judge is a Judge," and "Give us evidence that Judges are biased on Ethnicity" can be seen to show the protestors stance in upholding and defending the sacrosanctity of judicial institution. Throughout the protest, attendees also chanted slogans like "Do not drag the judiciary into politics," emphasizing their concerns about the potential consequences of politicizing the judiciary.
In anticipation of any potential unrest, the Superintendent of Police, Lamka, deployed a company of anti-riot personnel and additional police forces to the site. The security presence was intended to prevent any untoward incidents during the protest. Despite the heavy police deployment, the sit-in protest remained peaceful and concluded without any reports of violence or disruption.
In Photo: Zo tribal Bar Members holding a sit-in-protest at the Wall of Remembrance, Lamka