Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh of the High Court of Manipur issued an order preventing the arrest of Meitei Leepun chief Pramot Singh
Meitei Leepun chief Pramot Singh has now been granted protection from arrest till December in a case registered against him at the Churachandpur police station in June this year, for which a local court had issued an arrest warrant earlier this month.
This case against Mr. Singh was registered under sections pertaining to promoting enmity between ethnic groups and making statements prejudicial to national integration over his remarks in an interview with The Wire’s Karan Thapar in early June.
On October 9, the Chief Judicial Magistrate of Churachandpur issued a warrant for Mr. Singh’s arrest, noting that local police in Imphal West was not cooperating with Churachandpur Police’s requests for house searches.
Soon after, Mr. Singh approached the Manipur High Court, seeking that the FIR against him be quashed and that appropriate orders be passed.
Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh, on October 20, ordered that Mr. Singh be protected from arrest till the next date of hearing on December 6.
“Taking into consideration the volatile situation prevailing in the State of Manipur and the danger to the life of the present petitioner, in case of his appearance before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Churachandpur, it is hereby ordered that till the next date of hearing for consideration of the prayer for passing interim order, the petitioner should not be arrested and compelled to appear before the said Chief Judicial Magistrate, Churachandpur without leave of this Court,” the High Court said in its order.
In his application, Mr. Singh claimed that he came to know about warrant being issued against him through news reports and also claimed that he had not received any summons as submitted by the Churachandpur Police.
He added that he was willing to co-operate with any investigation against him so long as he is provided with documents related to the FIR and served a copy of the summons issued to him and the order issuing the warrant against him.
In addition to protecting him from arrest, the High Court also issued notice to the Manipur government and local police in Churachandpur and Imphal West in Mr. Singh’s petition seeking quashing of the FIR against him.
Apart from the case registered by the Churachandpur Police, Mr. Singh has also been booked under similar charges in a separate FIR registered at Kangokpi Police Station.
