The Supreme Court mandated on Monday that the Home Secretary of Manipur and the Deputy Director General of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Gauhati, make sure that any displaced individuals in an ethnically divided state who may have lost their Aadhaar cards are given a copy of the card after proper verification.
Concerned about the possibility of illegal immigrants in Manipur obtaining Aadhaar cards, a bench of the Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra warned UIDAI that it must match the biometric information pertaining to each person who has claimed that they have lost their Aadhaar card with its database.
“Someone will have to verify if they are genuine citizens. What if someone is an illegal entrant? We will say that the authorities will verify if the person is a genuine citizen. We can’t pass a general order,” the CJI said.
The bench stated that it will be simple for those who have misplaced their Aadhaar cards because their biometric information will already be available.
“Deputy Director General, UIDAI, regional office Gauhati and State Home Secretary 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. We clarify that UIDAI which would have biometric data… would match the claims of any displaced persons, and issue Aadhaar cards,” the top court ordered.
The Supreme Court-appointed High Power Committee recommended that the UIDAI be given instructions for providing Aadhaar cards for the state’s displaced citizens, and the Apex Court agreed.
The bench was informed by senior attorney Ranjit Kumar, who was representing the Meitei side, that many people with Aadhaar cards are also illegal immigrants.
CJI said that he had previously stated that verification will take place prior to the issuance of the Aadhaar card.
The bench also made it plain that it does not intend to oversee every aspect of the state’s government from here in order to run Manipur from there.
“We do not propose to run the Manipur administration in the Supreme Court. We will not hear the case every week, we will hear it every four weeks. We do not believe the High Court of Manipur is not functioning,” the bench said after senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for the Kuki side, said lawyers of the Kuki community were not being allowed to appear before the High Court to espouse causes related to the violence in the State.
The top court instructed the head of the Manipur High Court Bar Association to certify that attorneys were not being prohibited from testifying before the High Court because of their membership in a particular religion or community.
Additionally, it directed the president of the bar association to draught a statement and submit High Court orders verifying the attendance of solicitors from all communities.
The High Court Bar Association President informed the bench that solicitors from all groups were participating in cases both physically and virtually.
The cases involving the conflict between the Meitei and Kuki communities in Manipur have been brought before the highest court.
Following an event on May 3 organised by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur (ATSUM), fighting broke out between the Meiteis and the tribal Kuki in Manipur.
Since May, the state has been engulfed in violence, and the Central government has to use paramilitary forces to put things under control.
(With agency inputs)
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