MHA forms tribunal to adjudicate ban on Meitei extremist organisations

Guwahati, Nov 29: After declaring several Meitei extremist organisations as ‘unlawful associations’ for five years, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday constituted a tribunal under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to determine whether or not there is sufficient cause for banning the extremist organisations of Manipur.

The tribunal will be headed by Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, a Judge of the Gauhati High Court.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government hereby constitutes 'The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal' consisting of Justice Sanjay Kumar Medhi, Judge of the Gauhati High Court, for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Meitei Extremist Organizations of Manipur... as 'Unlawful Associations,” the notification reads.

The organisations that were declared ‘unlawful associations’ under UAPA for a period of five years included the Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing, Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA), the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the “Red Army”, the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the “Red Army”, the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), the Coordination Committee (CorCom) and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK) along with their factions, wings and front organizations.