NEW DELHI: An affidavit the BJP-led Manipur government filed in the Indian Supreme Court has come under scrutiny for its remarks directed at counsels arguing for the Meitei Christian Churches Council, Manipur (MCCCM), which raised the matter of the destruction of as many as 642 worship places of Christians in the violence-hit north eastern state of India.
Appearing for the MCCCM, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi objected to a paragraph in the affidavit filed by Manipur’s chief secretary in the SC. He said that instead of addressing the issue at hand, the affidavit had sought to attribute motives and that too on grounds which were not legally tenable.
He objected to the affidavit questioning the petitioner for only taking up the cause of destruction of churches. Huzefa Ahmadi said, “What disturbs me today is this affidavit. It is really disturbing”. “But is this, on a legal basis, a legally tenable stand on behalf of the state? To say that I highlight the case in respect of certain places of worship – can that be a ground to say that you only highlighted the cause of churches?”
He pointed out that the state government’s affidavit had made statements against senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, who appeared for the all-women judges’ committee constituted by the Supreme Court to oversee cases related to the state’s ethnic violence. “To make these allegations even against the counsel of the commission, in my submission, is deeply disturbing,” Ahmadi said.
He appealed to the bench of CJI, DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra for protection and went as far as to say, “The tenor of this is disturbing. It says it is not adversarial but it is actually adversarial.”
Arora also took strong objection to being attacked by the state of Manipur in its affidavit filed before the apex court. She said she intended to recuse from the matter, citing direct attacks against her.
The MCCCM has complained that the Manipur state authorities and the Indian govt did not do anything to prevent the destruction of churches belonging to the Meitei Christians in Manipur during the communal clashes. Its petition has called for action to be taken right away to stop the further desecration of church properties and to preserve them.
The bench was hearing a batch of pleas related to the recent outbreak of violence in Manipur.
