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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has established a tribunal under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), led by Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi of the Gauhati High Court. The tribunal is tasked with adjudicating whether there is sufficient cause to ban Meitei Extremist Organizations in Manipur.
On November 13, the MHA had banned at least nine Meitei extremist organizations, citing their involvement in ‘secessionist, subversive, terrorist, and violent activities.’ These organizations include the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing, the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur People’s Army (MPA), the People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the ‘Red Army,’ the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also known as the ‘Red Army,’ the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), the Coordination Committee (CorCom), and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK), along with all their factions, wings, and front organizations.
The MHA’s notification on Tuesday stated, ‘MHA has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal consisting of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, Judge of the Gauhati high court, for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Meitei Extremist Organizations of Manipur.’
The government alleges that these organizations are involved in attacks on security forces, police, and civilians in Manipur, engaging in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India. The professed aim of these organizations, according to the MHA, is the ‘establishment of an independent nation by secession of Manipur from India through armed struggle and to incite indigenous people of Manipur for such secession.’
The Centre contends that these Meitei extremist organizations have been engaging in various activities detrimental to India’s sovereignty and integrity, including attacking and killing security forces, police, and civilians in Manipur, acts of intimidation, extortion, and looting of the civilian population for fundraising, making international contacts to influence public opinion and seek assistance in terms of arms and training for their secessionist objectives, and maintaining camps in neighboring countries for sanctuaries, training, and clandestine procurement of arms and ammunition.
