Manipur violence: Hyderabad university professor moves SC against summons by Imphal court

As a result of senior attorney Anand Grover’s request for an early hearing, a bench presided over by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud decided to submit the case for hearing on July 28. Dr. Kham Khan Suan Hausing, a professor of political science and the head of the political science department at the University of Hyderabad who is from the Kuki tribe, filed a case with the top court asking for the summonses and proceedings to be quashed. Hausing was served with a summons by the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Imphal East, Manipur, requesting that he appear before the court on July 28, 2023 in response to a criminal charge that Meitei Tribes Union (MTU) member Manipar Moirangthem Singh had filed against Hausing. The Indian Penal Code (IPC)’s sections 153A, 295A, 505(1), 298 (deliberate intention to wound the religious feelings of any person), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 298 (acts outraging religious feelings) were all invoked in court proceedings in Imphal. Section 153A deals with inciting animosity between groups, while section 295A addresses acts outraging religious feelings. According to the complainant, professor Hausing’s comments made in an interview with Karan Thapar defamed the Meitei community and stoked tensions amongst different ethnic groups in Manipur. Hausing had stated during the interview that the Kuki village needed its own administration. The petitioner requested a copy of the full complaint, including with the complainant’s and witnesses’ statements, the complaint itself, the FIR that was filed, and any court orders. He said that summonses were issued to him in complete disregard of the intercommunal strife and disorder that the Kuki and Meitei communities were causing in the State of Manipur. The argument used the instance of Deeksha Dwivedi, a lawyer, who was given temporary protection after the Manipur Police filed a FIR against her for sedition and conspiracy to commit treason. The petitioner said he is similarly placed with Dwivedi’s case as he apprehends that amidst the communal tension of the two communities, there is threat to his life and liberty. The petitioner submitted that on account of the widespread conflict in Manipur, he is apprehensive that there is a real and imminent threat to his life if he travels to Manipur to answer the summons. Hausing further stated in his plea that on on July 6, 2023 summons were issued by the Magistrate and no case against the offences under which he was charged are made out. He said on July 13, it has also come to his knowledge that a fresh complaint dated July 10 by one Khomdrom Manikanta Singh has also been filed with the Officer-In Charge, Imphal West Police station, Manipur alleging that Hausing is not a citizen of India and his name has been added to the electoral rolls by manipulation, fraud, forgery, and conspiracy. The violence in Manipur between the Meiteis and the tribal Kuki, erupted after a rally by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM) on May 3. Violence has gripped the entire state for over three month now and the Central government had to deploy paramilitary forces to bring the situation under control. (With agency inputs)