Manipur fact-finding case: Supreme Court extends protection from arrest to advocate Deeksha Dwivedi by four weeks

Deeksha Dwivedi, along with two others, was part of a fact-finding team that went to Manipur to hear testimonies of people affected by the violence that has gripped the state. The three were subsequently booked under Sections relating to waging war against the State and defamation, among others. On July 11, the Supreme Court had granted her protection from arrest by Manipur police for one week. Today, the court extended it by four weeks.

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TODAY, the Supreme Court extended the interim protection from arrest granted to advocate Deeksha Dwivedi by four weeks.

A three-judge Bench of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices P.S. Narasimha and Manoj Mishra had previously granted her protection from arrest by the Manipur police for a week through an Order passed on July 11.

Dictating the Order, the CJI said, "In order to enable the petitioner to pursue such rights and remedies as are available to her under the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, we extend the interim protection granted by a further period of—"

"Two weeks," the Solicitor General of India (SGI) Tushar Mehta suggested, opposing the request of six weeks made by senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Dwivedi.

"By a period of four weeks," the CJI continued dictating the Order. "Within this period, it will be open to the petitioner to move the competent court to pursue such rights and remedies as are available in law."

The Bench also granted Dwivedi additional relief to appear through video conferencing. She currently resides in Allahabad, the Bench was told earlier in the hearing.

Dave separately claimed that online threats are being issued against an 'instructing lawyer' to Dave. Dave did not disclose their name during the hearing.

"So what further protection?" the CJI inquired.

"We need slightly more time. Four weeks are not enough," Dave responded.

"After six weeks, would the threat go (sic)?" Mehta asked rhetorically.

"Liberty to apply in the event of any difficulty," the CJI said, concluding the Order.

In the previous hearing, the Bench had asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to take instructions on the matter. Mehta had 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 Annie Raja, senior leader of the Communist Party of India, and Nisha Sidhu, general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), were booked by the Manipur police on July 8, 2023 based on an application by one L. Liben Singh under Sections 121A, 124A, 153, 153A, 153B, 499, 504 and 505(2), read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

These sections include the offence of waging war against the State, provocation with intent to cause riot 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 by visiting relief camps and 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".

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.