A single bench of Justice Ahanthem Bimol of the Manipur High Court has directed the Manipur government to withdraw the long-pending criminal cases against three former cadres of the Mizo National Front (MNF).
The Manipur High Court ordered both the Union and state governments to withdraw the pending criminal cases registered in 1984 against the former MNF personnel, honouring the assurances made by the Union Government in 1986 that no new cases would be registered and existing cases would be withdrawn.
The Memorandum of Settlement (known as the Mizo Peace Accord) was signed on June 30, 1986, involving the Government of India, the Government of Mizoram, and the erstwhile MNF. The agreement assured the MNF that if they renounce violence and surrender their arms, the state government would not prosecute them for crimes committed during their underground activities, and all pending criminal cases would be withdrawn.
Despite this assurance in the agreement, summons was issued to the petitioners in 2000 for their involvement in underground activities in 1984. The petitioners argued that the government should withdraw the pending criminal cases based on the 1986 Settlement.
The Manipur government, however, contended that the settlement did not apply to offences committed outside Mizoram. Since the crime occurred in Manipur, they argued that the settlement was not applicable.
Justice Ahemthem Bimol Singh stated there was no record indicating that the settlement was limited to offences committed within Mizoram.
The high court directed the respondents (Government of Manipur and the Central Government) to take necessary steps to withdraw the prosecution of the petitioners within three months or close the criminal case before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Churachandpur, concerning the petitioners.
The petitioners were arrested in 1984 in connection with a robbery at the State Bank of India in Churachandpur, two years before the Mizo Peace Accord was signed.
