The
Supreme Court on Monday directed the Unique Identification Authority of India
and the Manipur government to take steps to ensure that Aadhaar cards are
provided to people displaced due to the bloody ethnic conflict in the state
whose records are already available with the UIDAI.
Observing
that it does not propose to run the administration in Manipur, the apex court
said necessary verifications shall be carried out before issuing the Aadhaar
cards expeditiously.
A bench headed by Chief Justice
D Y Chandrachud clarified that UIDAI, which would have the biometric details of
people to whom Aadhaar cards were already issued, will match the claims of
those displaced about the loss of their cards.
The bench, also comprising
Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, directed the secretary of Manipur's
finance department to issue appropriate instructions to all banks in the
affected parts of the state to make available the details of bank accounts to
those who have lost the documents.
It said secretary of Manipur's
health department shall take all expeditious steps for issuing disability
certificates/duplicates of disability certificates to specially-abled persons
in relief camps.
The bench issued the directions
while it was considering the reports filed by the apex court-appointed all-woman
committee of former high court judges headed by Justice (retd) Gita Mittal. The
panel also includes Justices (retd) Shalini P Joshi and Asha Menon.
"The Deputy Director
General, UIDAI, Regional Office, Guwahati, and the secretary, Department of
Home Affairs, Manipur, shall take all steps to ensure that Aadhaar cards are
provided to all displaced persons, who may have lost their Aadhaar cards in the
process of displacement, whose records are already available with UIDAI,"
the bench said.
During the hearing on a batch of
pleas, including those seeking court-monitored probe into cases of violence,
besides measures for relief and rehabilitation, the bench observed that for
issuing Aadhaar cards, the authority will have to verify whether these are
genuine residents or citizens.
"What if somebody is an
illegal entrant?" it asked and added "We will say the authorities
will verify whether the person is genuine."
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and the Manipur
government, said several of these issues can be sorted out if the committee
discuss them with the authorities.
"Let the committee be aware
of its remit," he said.
The bench said the committee has
not pressed for several of the directions mentioned in its reports.
Mehta said if the government
authority does not respond to the reports or directions of the committee, then
the panel can bring it to the court's notice.
"They have possibly
misconstrued their role," he said, adding, "I would request the
committee that a telephonic call to the chief secretary can sort out most of
the issues rather than troubling your lordships."
One of the lawyers appearing in the matter raised the issue of properties,
which were burnt during the violence, being occupied by others.
"This is eventually an
aspect of law and order. The committee is seized of it," the bench
observed.
On the issue of disposal of dead
bodies, Mehta said the authorities are acting as directed by the committee.
"Everything that happens
here is publicised irrespective of what work has been done on the ground, what
directions are being given by the committee. Allow that process to work
out," the bench observed.
When lawyers appearing in the
matter referred to various issues, the bench said, "You tell us one thing,
either we scrap the committee and hear this matter after every four weeks
because we are not going to hear it every week. We don't have time to hear this
matter every week because we don't propose to run Manipur administration in the
Supreme Court."
The apex court said the committee is handling several aspects and these issues
can be brought to the notice of the panel.
One of the advocates referred to
the status report filed by the state on recovery of arms from "all
sources" in the ethnic violence-hit state.
"That sealed cover report
be given to the committee," the lawyer said. The solicitor general
objected to the submission.
The bench observed the
committee, in one of its reports, has sought a direction to the Manipur High
Court and the state government to urgently complete the process of appointing
secretaries of the district legal services authority (DLSAs) in all 16
districts there.
It noted the advocate general of
Manipur has told the court there are nine judicial districts in the state and
secretaries of
DSLAs in each one of them has
already been appointed.
The bench said the state
government shall place adequate funds at the disposal of the Manipur state
legal services authority/district collectors/competent authorities for
releasing compensation to the victims under the Manipur Victim Compensation
Scheme, 2019.
In order to accommodate the
requirements of such displaced people as may have temporarily re-settled
outside the state, the bench directed the Centre to nominate one nodal officer
in Delhi who would guide and direct the grievances of such persons to the
appropriate channel.
"If steps are already taken
in that regard, no further action may be required," it said.
The bench noted Mehta's
submission that in order to obviate the need for the court to pass individual
directions on the committee's reports, the panel may contact the chief
secretary of Manipur so necessary remedial action can be taken immediately.
The bench, which posted the
matter for hearing after a week.
Manipur descended into chaos and
untrammelled violence in May over a high court order directing the state
government to consider including the non-tribal Meitei community in the list of
Scheduled Tribes.
This order led to rampant ethnic clashes. More than 170 people have been
killed and several hundred others injured since ethnic violence first broke out
in the state on May 3 when a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in hill
districts to protest against the majority Meitei community's demand for ST
status.