Erendro was arrested on May 13 for allegedly posting a statement which mentioned, “The cure for Corona is not cow dung and cow urine. The cure is science and common sense. Professor ji RIP,” in his Facebook page, following the death of Manipur BJP leader S Tikendra Singh.

On May 17, Erendro was granted bail by the chief judicial magistrate, Imphal West; however, the district magistrate, Imphal West detained him on the same day under the National Security Act (NSA).

The petition filed by Erendro’s father stated that the case was not all a case of invocation of NSA as the innocuous post of Erendro was incapable of impacting even ‘law and order’, let alone public order or security of the state. The petition also pointed out that there are statutory grounds available for detention under the NSA.

“The case is a classic case of malice in law, where the law of preventive detention has been used to shut-off political voices that the ruling party in Manipur does not like, rather than for any valid purposes. This is not a purpose for which NSA permits preventive detention, making the order malafide and liable to be set aside,” the petition stated.

It further mentioned, “Not only is the detention bad in law but it is also in direct violation of the Supreme Court's order dated April 30, 2021 in SMW (C)No.3/2021, In Re: Distribution of Essential Supplies and Services During Pandemic, wherein the Apex Court has directed that there shall be no clampdown on information on social media or harassment of individuals delivering help on social media. Erendro's Facebook post was intended to dispel misinformation about COVID-19 cure.”

Earlier, Erendro's father had also filed a contempt petition before the Supreme Court against the slapping of NSA by the district magistrate.

Both the petitions were listed before two different division benches of the apex court on June 30.