Four Imphal-based lawyers have decided not to represent Hyderabad University Professor Kham Khan Suan Hausing in the Manipur High Court after being threatened by members of the Meitei community, one of the advocates told The Hindu on Saturday.
Mr. Hausing, a Kuki academic, who has been vocal about the alleged role of the State government in radicalising the Meitei community, is facing a private criminal case in Imphal filed by Meitei civilians for an interview he had given to a news website.
Mr. Hausing has already been protected by the Supreme Court through an interim order in the case. He had approached the High Court to quash the summons issued to him by the lower court in the above-mentioned case.
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With senior advocate Anand Grover representing Mr. Hausing, four Imphal-based advocates – S. Chittaranjan, Victor Chongtham, Th. Zingo, and A Priyokumar Sharma – had also decided to assist Mr. Grover in the Manipur High Court.
However, earlier this week, after receiving threats from members of the Meitei community, the advocates decided to withdraw from the case, Mr. Chongtham told The Hindu on Saturday.
Mr. Grover added, “They were facing threats and vandalism and so the lawyers assisting decided to withdraw.”
Mr. Hausing said, “First, they threatened the lawyers on Thursday. Then the office of one of the lawyers was vandalised on Friday and so they withdrew.”
In the application filed before a Bench of Justice A. Guneshwar Sharma on August 31, the advocates submitted that they wished to withdraw from the case because of “personal reasons”. The court, on the same day, allowed the application and is now set to take up the case again on September 4.
‘Most unfortunate’
Mr. Hausing said, “This is most unfortunate and goes against the principle of natural justice. It does not bode well for law and justice in the State.”
The Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum on Saturday issued a condemnation of the incident saying, “The threats to the lawyers by members of their own community show the level of intolerance and radicalisation among the Meiteis. Mr. Hausing has the right to defend himself in court and the lawyers were only doing their job by filing paperwork in the case.”
