The Supreme Court has extended an eight-week deadline to the Manipur government to provide its response to a legal challenge against the state’s Inner Line Permit (ILP) system. This directive was issued during a session presided by Justices Hrishikesh Roy and SVN Bhatti.
The challenge was initiated by ‘Amra Bangalee’, an organization that argues the ILP regime, which requires outsiders, including Indian citizens from other states, to obtain permission before entering Manipur, curtails fundamental rights. Manipur, alongside Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram, implements this system to regulate the entry of non-indigenous people.
The plea claims that the ILP system, enforced under the Manipur Inner Line Permit Guidelines of 2019, excessively empowers the state government to limit the movement of non-native individuals, which hinders social integration, economic development, technological progress, and the tourism industry — a critical revenue source for the state.
The organization further contends that the 2019 guidelines infringe upon the constitutional rights guaranteed under Articles 14 (Equality before the law), 15 (Prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth), 19 (Freedom to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India), and 21 (Protection of life and personal liberty).
