The Supreme Court has granted an extension of interim protection to a woman lawyer until July 17. The lawyer was booked on charges, including sedition, after a fact-finding team from the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW), affiliated with the Communist Party of India (CPI), visited violence-affected Manipur. The team concluded in a press conference that the ongoing ethnic conflict in the state was a result of “state-sponsored violence.”
During the court hearing, the bench, comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and Manoj Misra, was informed that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the State of Manipur and the Centre, was currently unavailable. The bench ordered, “To enable the court to consider the submissions of the respondents (State and Centre), list on Monday (July 17). The interim order issued on July 11, 2023, is extended until the next date of listing.”
Previously, on July 11, the Supreme Court had directed that no coercive action be taken against advocate Deeksha Dwivedi until 5 pm on July 14. Dwivedi approached the Supreme Court after the Manipur Police registered an FIR against her, CPI leader Annie Raja, and Nisha Siddhu. The FIR included charges related to provocation to cause a riot, waging war against the country, intentional insult, imputations prejudicial to national integration, and promoting enmity between different groups.
The FIR was filed on July 8 based on a complaint lodged by S Liben Singh, a 53-year-old resident of Imphal West District. The NFIW fact-finding team visited Manipur between June 28 and July 1, after which they conducted a press conference to share their findings.