THE STATES

Politics and privileges

Even as the impasse over legal rights and privileges between the legislature and the judiciary in Manipur continues, the State witnesses another act in the drama of defections.

KALYAN CHAUDHURI

THE judiciary and the legislature in Manipur are at loggerheads. Although a tussle between the government and lawyers in the State was resolved with the lawyers withdrawing on August 2 a 'cease work' agitation, the impasse over their respective rights and privileges between the Assembly and the High Court persists.

The lawyers were protesting against attacks on the bungalows of Justices N. Surajmoni Singh and B.B. Deb of the Imphal Bench of the Guwahati High Court by some Congress(I) workers on July 23, and the subsequent lifting of security cover from the court complex and Judges' residences. Within an hour of the incident the State government imposed a curfew in the court complex and withdrew security cover to the Judges. The three Judges of the Imphal Bench had to leave the State.

After a 10-day cease work agitation, the lawyers decided to attend court following an apology from Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. The Chief Minister, who was away from the State capital at the time of the incident, met representatives of the High Court Bar Association and the All Manipur Bar Association upon his return and tendered an apology for the withdrawal of security cover from the High Court premises and Judges' bungalows. The State government also gave a written assurance to the two associations that it would look into their four-point charter of demands, which includes the replacement of State forces with Central forces for the security of the High Court complex and the Judges' bungalows and to book the Congress(I) workers who stormed the Judges' residences. The two associations also demanded that the government book those officials who were responsible for withdrawing security cover. The Chief Minister assured them that steps will be considered to meet their demands.

The Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court, P.P. Naolekar, who reached Imphal following the cease work agitation by lawyers, requested them to restore normalcy in the court's functioning. He took stock of the impasse and called on Governor Ved Marwah.

The row started on July 22 when Justice Surajmoni Singh summoned the Chief Minister to appear before the court on July 24 in a contempt case. The court directed Principal Secretary C. Raikhan Chhiber and Director of Health Chandramoni Singh to appear too. The summons were issued in a case relating to appointments made in the Health Department. However, on July 24 the court stayed proceedings in the case and exempted the Chief Minister from appearing personally. The Chief Justice then requested the Governor to provide security cover to the Judges.

Meanwhile, the Assembly wanted Justice Surajmoni Singh to appear before its Privileges Committee, stating that the Judge cannot summon the Chief Minister while the Assembly is in session without the consent of the Speaker. The Assembly asked the Chief Minister not to appear before the court by adopting a unanimous resolution to that effect.

The controversy escalated when Justice Deb sent a show cause notice to the Assembly Secretary on why the notice requiring the presence of Justice Surajmoni Singh before the Privileges Committee should not be stayed. Justice Deb held that in issuing a notice to the Chief Minister to appear before the court for non-compliance of an earlier court order, which amounts to contempt of court, Justice Surajmoni Singh had only discharged his judicial function without aiming to commit any breach of privilege under Article 194 of the Constitution.

Even as the tussle was in progress, on July 24 workers of the ruling Congress(I) stormed the bungalows of the Judges shouting slogans against Justice Surajmoni Singh. (Okram Ibobi Singh is also the president of the Manipur State Congress (I).) The Imphal Bench has three Judges - Justices Surajmoni Singh, Deb, and D. Biswas. Following the attack on the bungalows and vandalism in the court premises, the lawyers went on strike.

Meanwhile, eight members of the Assembly resigned from the nine-member Privileges Committee on July 31 protesting against the delay on the part of Speaker T.N. Haokip in summoning Justices Surajmoni Singh and Deb before the committee. The Speaker, they alleged, was deliberately delaying the execution of the decision of the committee to initiate proceedings against the two Judges for "breach of privilege and contempt of the House". The Speaker was not present in the Assembly when the legislators of the Congress(I) and its five coalition allies raised the issue. Haokip said that he wanted to consult the Lok Sabha Speaker on the issue. He also needed to seek legal opinion before serving notice on the Judges.

Non-compliance with court orders by senior government officials in cases relating to alleged irregularities in their departments is a regular affair in Manipur. Four senior IAS officers - Higher Education Commissioner I.S. Laishram, Principal Power Secretary Ch Birendra Singh, Civil Supplies Commissioner Shambhu Singh, Director of Food and Civil Supplies P. Vaiphaei - were held guilty by Justice Chandramoni Singh of non-compliance of court orders. Laishram was sent to jail for 10 days on July 23 by the Judge but was set free on July 26 when a Division Bench of the Guwahati High Court directed his release. The Division Bench admitted appeals filed by the other IAS officers who were found guilty of contempt.

While the deadlock continued, political parties in Manipur, where floor-crossing by legislators is routine, faced a new round of defections. The show of unity put up by the political fraternity in the State has turned out to be a sham with the Chief Minister, who is yet to complete 100 days in office, revealing the defection drama.

Ibobi Singh, who leads the six-party coalition government of the Secular Progressive Front (SPF), engineered splits in three parties, including two constituents of the ruling front, in order to increase to 31 the Congress(I)'s strength in the 60-member Assembly, despite a resolution passed by the coalition against defections among the partners. The resolution was adopted taken under pressure from the people following Statewide disturbances in June 2001 (Frontline, July 20, 2001). Irate crowds,which set fire to the Assembly building, forced Ministers and legislators to flee Imphal and seek refuge in Delhi as they failed to defend the threat to Manipur's territorial integrity posed by the extension of a ceasefire agreement in Nagaland to neighbouring Naga-inhabited States, including Manipur.

The Manipur State Congress Party (MSCP), a constituent of the SPF, lost five of its seven MLAs to the Congress(I) after the latest split. The five MLAs broke away to form the MSCP (Secular) before merging with the Congress(I). The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), another constituent of the front, ceased to have a representative in the Assembly as its three legislators formed the NCP (Democratic). Three MLAs of the opposition Samata Party meanwhile formed the Samata Party (Progressive) which merged itself with the Congress(I). The Speaker recognised the merger of the three groups with the Congress(I) on June 19. With the merger of the breakaway groups comprising 11 legislators in the Congress(I), the SPF's strength rose to 40.