Dwivedi, along with senior Communist Party of India leader Annie Raja and general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women, Nisha Sidhu, were booked by the Manipur police on July 8, 2023 based on an application by one L. Liben Singh under various Sections of the IPC. The trio were part of a fact-finding team that went to Manipur to hear individual testimonies of people affected by the violence that has gripped the state.
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ON Tuesday, a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices P.S. Narasimha and Manoj Mishra passed an Order granting protection from arrest by the Manipur police to advocate Deeksha Dwivedi till Friday.
The Bench asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take instructions on the matter. Mehta submitted that though it was the prerogative of the court to entertain a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, the petitioner ought to have approached the high court for seeking relief.
Dwivedi, along with senior Communist Party of India leader Annie Raja and general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), Nisha Sidhu, were booked by the Manipur police on July 8, 2023 based on an application by one L. Liben Singh under Sections 121A, 124, 153, 153A, 153B, 499, 504 and 505(2), read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
These sections, among others, include the offence of waging war against the State, provocation and defamation.
The three accused persons were part of a fact-finding team that went to Manipur to hear individual testimonies of people affected by the violence that has gripped the state.
They collected narratives in Delhi as well as in Manipur at the relief camps and by meeting district collectors and other officials.
Manipur has been witnessing ethnic clashes between the minority Kukis, who are mostly Christian and live in the hills, and the majority Meiteis, who are predominantly Hindu and live in the Imphal Valley, since May 3, 2023.
The complaint on the basis of which a first information report (FIR) was registered, mentions that the three accused persons, in complete disregard of facts, have abused the Meira Paibies of Manipur and had termed the protest of Meira Paibies against the resignation of chief minister as "stage-managed drama".
"Not only this, the May 3, 2023 riot in Manipur is also termed as 'state-sponsored riot' or 'state-sponsored violence' without any conclusive evidence. Such a statement is a conspiracy to overthrow a democratically elected government by instigating people to wage war against the government," the complaint states.
NFIW, in its report on Manipur, concludes that the state government had failed in protecting the lives of citizens. The report demands the resignation of the chief minister of the state and calls the violence "state sponsored violence".
In over two months of violence, clashes between the communities have resulted in the death of more than 150 people from both the Kuki–Zo and the Meitei communities, destruction of approximately 300 churches, and displacement of more than 70,000 people, who have sought shelter with relatives in Manipur, moved out of the state or live in temporary relief camps.