Imphal court issued summons over comments Prof Hausing made about state complicity in the Manipur violence.
Prof Kham Khan Suan Hausing, Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Hyderabad. (Twitter/ Kham Khan Suan Hausing)
The Supreme Court on Friday, 28 July declined an urgent hearing of a plea by the Head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) seeking quashing of summons issued to him by an Imphal court over his comments on the violence in Manipur.
The summons was issued in response to comments Prof Kham Khan Suan Hausing made in an interview to the news website The Wire, where he discussed the involvement of Meitei outfits and state complicity in the ongoing ethnic conflict in Manipur.
Besides challenging the summons, Prof Hausing has also sought the quashing of criminal proceedings against him in the Imphal East District Court in Manipur.
Heading a bench also comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul declined to hold an urgent hearing on Prof Hausing’s plea, saying that the matter was listed for hearing on Monday, July 31.
Seeking an urgent hearing, senior advocate Anand Grover told the bench that this is about a professor from Hyderabad who is in Manipur and has to appear before an Imphal court today (Friday).
As senior advocate Grover urged the bench to keep it today for hearing or keep it before the bench of the chief justice on Monday, Justice Kaul said that it (the plea by Hausing) was coming up on Monday anyway.
Grover said that a bailable warrant could be issued against Prof Hausing.
Justice Kaul said: “Sorry, it’s on Monday.”
Grover mentioned the matter for hearing on Friday itself before the bench of Justice Kaul — the seniormost apex court judge after Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud — as the matter was listed before the CJI’s court for the same day, but the court was cancelled as Chandrachud was unavailable.
The petitioner, Dr Kham Khan Suan Hausing, approached the top court after the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) issued the summons and ordered him to appear before it on 28 July pursuant of a criminal complaint filed against him by a member of the Meitei Tribes Union (MTU), Manihar Moirangthem Singh.
The complaint mentioned Hausing as the respondent and accused him of making derogatory remarks about religious sites associated with the Meitei community, such as Koubru and Thangjing.
The complainant also alleged that Hausing made false statements that defamed the Meitei community and exacerbated communal enmity in the state.
The complainant submitted a USB drive containing the interview and a certificate from the director of the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) of Manipur as evidence.
After examining the petition and the statements of the complainant and the witness, the court found prima facie evidence of offences under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
CJM Ashem Tarunakumari Devi on 6 July concluded that there were sufficient grounds to proceed against Hausing under Sections 153A (promoting enmity on religious grounds), 200 (knowingly making false statements), 295(A) (outraging religious feelings), 298 (verbal insult to religious feelings), 505(1), and 120B of the IPC.
Hausing has said that the summons was issued to him ignoring the prevailing communal tension and disturbance in Manipur.
“If a majoritarian state and its regime chose to use its coercive monopoly of power to silence truth and violate human rights with impunity, we have to remain united, reclaim and fight for these #ManipurViolence [sic],” tweeted Prof Hausing after receiving the summons.
If a majoritarian state and its regime chose to use its coercive monopoly of power to silence truth and violate human rights with impunity, we have to remain united, reclaim and fight for these #ManipurViolence @UNCHRSS @ABC @CNN @BBCWorld
— Kham Khan Suan Hausing (@kksuanh) July 7, 2023
UoH students have said that Hausing was a notable scholar on Northeast India and had been writing on issues pertaining to the region for a long time and with great nuance.
“Similarly, he has written and spoken in great detail regarding the ongoing violence in Manipur and its historical roots. Various scholars have engaged with his commentary both in agreement and otherwise, as is the norm in academia,” said a group of Department of Political Science students in a statement.
“…accusing him of promoting enmity, defaming religious sentiments, and engaging in a criminal conspiracy is not only a serious threat to his academic freedom but also a threat to his physical security considering the volatile situation (in Manipur),” they added.
Meanwhile, the UoH unit of the Students Federation of India said that universities were meant for academic freedom and to be a space for critical ideas.
“Academic freedom and dissent should not be considered a crime. Such cases discourage critical and innovative ideas in higher-education spaces,” said an SFI statement.
“Hausing is a prominent scholar on Northeast politics and federalism. Attacking such a prominent scholar is nothing but an attack on academic freedom. We stand in solidarity with the professor. We strongly believe that peace and harmony must be the utmost priority in Manipur at the moment,” it added.
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
May 18, 2024
