The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained Manipur police from taking any coercive action against a retired army officer against whom an FIR was registered in the state for the contents of his book The Anglo Kuki War 1917-19: Victory in Defeat published in 2022.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud also protected a professor against possible coercive action in connection with another FIR lodged on the basis of his alleged hate speeches.

However, the CJI asked retired Col (Dr) Vijaykant Chenji and Professor Henminlun to file their respective affidavits stating that they were forced to approach the Supreme Court directly for relief because no lawyers were willing to appear for them in the high court in Manipur, which has witnessed unprecedented violence since May.

Usually, citizens cannot approach the Supreme Court directly for any relief. They must move a high court concerned and thereafter file an appeal against its order before the top court.

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Chenji, told the bench that also included Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra that the retired colonel was forced to seek remedy directly from the Supreme Court as he was unable to get lawyers to represent him before the Manipur High Court due to threats.

“He’s a colonel. It’s again about a book. Not a word about the dispute, just military tactics. The lawyers in Manipur — their houses are being ransacked,” Grover submitted.

However, solicitor-general Tushar Mehta, who was present in the court in connection with some other matter, objected to Grover’s submission.

“I am not in the matter but this is happening a lot. Someone else comes but it’s never the lawyers themselves. There is a pattern to appear in the Supreme Court directly by one segment,” Mehta said.

Though he did not mention it, Mehta was alluding to the case where four journalists and members of a fact-finding team of the Editors Guild of India had moved the top court directly to quash the FIR registered against them and restrain the Manipur government from taking any coercive action. The journalists had told the apex court that they were forced to directly approach the Supreme Court since lawyers were being threatened from appearing before the high court.

Hyderabad-based academician Prof Kham Khan Suan Hausing had also recently approached the Supreme Court directly to restrain the Manipur government from taking any coercive action on the ground that he could not appear in the high court because the house of his advocate Sorisham Chittarnjan was ransacked and four of his lawyers withdrew from the case after receiving threats.

“This man is a retired colonel. He published his book in 2022 and now he is being prosecuted,” the CJI said.

Mehta, however, said: “I am on something different. Let the secretary-general of this court speak to the registrar-general of the high court and ask if the high court is functioning.”

The CJI, however, proceeded to issue a notice on the two petitions to the Manipur government but with a rider that the duo must file the affidavits.