SC Protects 4 Editors Guild Members Against Coercive Action In FIRs Registered In Manipur

On Monday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a police case has been filed on the basis of a complaint against the Editors Guild’s president and three other members

The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected four members of the Editors Guild of India against any coercive action till Monday in connection with two FIRs lodged against them in Manipur for offences including promoting enmity between two communities. A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also sought responses from the state government on the plea filed by Editors Guild, as per a PTI report. 

The matter has now been fixed for September 11 after earlier, the apex court agreed to hear the plea during the day itself, the report stated. 

On Monday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh said that a police case has been filed on the basis of a complaint against the Editors Guild’s president and three other members and accused them of trying to "provoke clashes" in the state.

Another FIR was also registered against the four members of the Editors Guild of India, with additional charges of defamation, said the PTI report. 

In a report published on Saturday, the Guild had slammed the internet ban in the state as being detrimental to media reportage and criticised what it termed as one-sided reporting by some media outlets and claimed there were indications that the state leadership "had turned partisan" during the conflict period. 

The state has been in the grip of violence since May 3 after a Tribal Solidarity March was held in the hill districts of the state to oppose inclusion of Meiteis in the Scheduled Tribes list. 

On Tuesday evening, a full curfew was imposed in the five valley districts of Manipur as a precautionary measure. 

The cancellation of curfew relaxation hours in Bishnupur, Kakching, Thoubal, Imphal West, and Imphal East follows a call by the Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity (COCOMI) and its women wing on Wednesday for people from all valley districts to remove an army barricade at Phougakchao Ikhai in Bishnupur district, a few kilometres away from Churachandpur, officials said.