Churachandpur/New Delhi:
A team of Supreme Court judges today visited internally displaced people living at relief camps in Manipur’s Churachandpur and Bishnupur districts.
Justice BR Gavai, who is also the executive chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), virtually inaugurated legal services and medical camps in all districts, and opened new legal aid clinics in Imphal East, Imphal West, and Ukhrul districts.
The other Supreme Court judges who visited the Churachandpur relief camp are Justices Vikram Nath, MM Sundresh, and KV Vishwanathan.
Justice N Kotiswar Singh, who belongs to the Meitei community, did not go to Churachandpur after the district bar association objected to his planned visit along with the other judges. Churachandpur is a Kuki-dominant district.
Sources said Justice Kotiswar Singh did not mind skipping the visit to Churachandpur in order to ensure there is calm, as his visit could be twisted by anti-social elements to stir communal trouble again.
Manipur High Court Chief Justice D Krishnakumar, and Justice Golmei Gaiphulshilu also attended.
“Let there be acts of kindness and justice in governance… Our country is a true example of unity in diversity. India is home to all of us, and wherever people are in difficulty, the entire country will come to ensure their difficulty is solved,” Justice Gavai said at the relief camp in the Kuki-dominant district.
“We know you are going through a difficult phase, but with the assistance of everyone – the executive , legislature, and judiciary – this can be solved and overcome in a short period. Our Constitution is a great document. When we compare our country with the neighbouring countries, we realise our Constitution has kept our country together, united and strong,” Justice Gavai said.
“Please believe in the Constitution and one day the situation will normalise and Manipur will prosper. People in the relief camps are given legal help and relief work is fast-tracked with the help of district legal services… We are sure peace will prevail in this land. We wish for the early return of peace, so let us all work together to bring peace and justice,” Justice Gavai said.
The Supreme Court judges distributed essentials and other relief material to the internally displaced people.
The legal services camps will connect people in the camps with the government’s welfare programmes, ensuring access to vital benefits such as healthcare, pensions, employment schemes, and identity document reconstruction.
“Nearly two years after the devastating sectarian violence of May 3, 2023, which led to the loss of hundreds of lives and displaced over 50,000 people, many continue to seek refuge in relief camps across Manipur. This visit by the Supreme Court judges highlights the ongoing need for legal and humanitarian assistance to these affected communities,” NALSA said in a statement.
By bridging the gap between legal rights and accessibility, NALSA aims to ensure that every displaced person receives support, protection, and resources they need to rebuild their lives with dignity, it said.
NALSA was formed in November 1995 under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. It coordinates and monitors the functioning of legal services institutions across India for proper implementation of legal aid programmes.
The valley-dominant Meitei community and over a dozen distinct tribes collectively known as Kuki, who are dominant in some hill areas of Manipur, have been fighting since May 2023 over a range of issues such as land rights and political representation.
The general category Meiteis want to be included under the Scheduled Tribes category, while the Kukis who share ethnic ties with people in neighbouring Myanmar’s Chin State and Mizoram want a separate administration carved out of Manipur, citing discrimination and unequal share of resources and power with the Meiteis.
