Imphal, May 28 (UNI) The Manipur High Courthas issued notice to the Centre and the state government in a public interest litigation filed by an academician Bachaspatimayum Deben Sharma on the issue of troops asking officials to remove the word 'Manipur' from a state government bus carrying journalists.
The petition, which came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench comprising Chief Justice K. Somashekar and Justice Ahanthem Bimol Singh, challenges the "unlawful obstruction" of a Manipur State Transport (MST) bus by personnel of the 4 Mahar Regiment at Gwaltabi Checkpoint on May 20. The vehicle was ferrying accredited journalists assigned to cover the state-sponsored 5th Shirui Lily Festival. said the petitioner's lawyer Meihoubam Rakesh .
Advocate Rakesh said according to the petition, the journalists were coerced to remove or conceal the word 'Manipur' from the MST bus signage, leading to a direct infringement of their fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(a), 19(1)(d), and 21 of the Constitution.