TIM asks for scrutiny of ST certificates
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By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Dec 26: The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) has demanded a thorough probe into the irregularities surrounding Scheduled Tribe certificates by a Supreme Court-mandated ST scrutiny committee.
TIM today submitted a formal memorandum to the Governor and the Chief Secretary urging immediate constitution of a permanent State-Level Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee as mandated by the Supreme Court of India in Kumari Madhuri Patil & Anr vs Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development & Ors. (1994).
The memorandum highlighted serious systemic irregularities in the issuance and verification of Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates in Manipur, as exposed by recent RTI disclosures and an NDTV report dated December 24, 2025 (repu- blished in local newspapers on December 25, 2025).
The report revealed that several Government employees were appointed using ST certificates bearing unnotified tribe names such as “Kuki”, “Thadou-Kuki”, “Haokip-Kuki”, and “Khongsai-Kuki,” names that do not appear in Manipur’s official list of 34 recognised Scheduled Tribes.
TIM has emphasised that Thadou is a distinct and separately notified Scheduled Tribe under Article 342 of the Constitution and is not a sub-tribe or synonym of “Kuki”.
The use of hybrid or unlisted names has created a false narrative and led to misuse of reservation benefits, particularly under the “Any Kuki Tribes” category, making genuine Thadou community members victims of identity suppression and ethnic misrepresentation amid the ongoing crisis in Manipur, it said.
Citing landmark Supreme Court judgments, Kumari Madhuri Patil v. Additional Commissioner (1994) and State of Maharashtra v. Milind (2000), the memorandum stressed that appointments secured through invalid certificates must be invalidated and that States are duty-bound to establish permanent Scrutiny Committees for rigorous verification of ST claims.
The State-level scrutiny committee, once constituted, be specially empowered to function as a special investigation team (SIT) with the mandate of identifying Government employees appointed since 2003 using invalid ST certificates.
The scrutiny committee or SIT be mandated to recommend appropriate action, including termination of services, against those found holding invalid certificates; investigate issuing authorities and recruiting departments for negligence, and suggest strong procedural safeguards, including a uniform step-by-step process and safeguards against issuance of ST certificates to non-indigenous persons or foreign Nationals, TIM demanded.
TIM has further urged that the scrutiny committee serve as a permanent mechanism to ensure transparent and lawful verification of all future ST claims in the State, thereby protecting the Constitutional rights of genuine indigenous Scheduled Tribes and promoting social harmony.
TIM president M James Thadou, stated, “This is a critical step towards upholding constitutional sanctity, correcting historical irregularities, and safeguarding the distinct identity and rights of the Thadou community and other genuine Scheduled Tribes of Manipur.”
IMPHAL, Dec 26: The Thadou Inpi Manipur (TIM) has demanded a thorough probe into the irregularities surrounding Scheduled Tribe certificates by a Supreme Court-mandated ST scrutiny committee.
TIM today submitted a formal memorandum to the Governor and the Chief Secretary urging immediate constitution of a permanent State-Level Scheduled Tribe Scrutiny Committee as mandated by the Supreme Court of India in Kumari Madhuri Patil & Anr vs Additional Commissioner, Tribal Development & Ors. (1994).
The memorandum highlighted serious systemic irregularities in the issuance and verification of Scheduled Tribe (ST) certificates in Manipur, as exposed by recent RTI disclosures and an NDTV report dated December 24, 2025 (repu- blished in local newspapers on December 25, 2025).
The report revealed that several Government employees were appointed using ST certificates bearing unnotified tribe names such as “Kuki”, “Thadou-Kuki”, “Haokip-Kuki”, and “Khongsai-Kuki,” names that do not appear in Manipur’s official list of 34 recognised Scheduled Tribes.
TIM has emphasised that Thadou is a distinct and separately notified Scheduled Tribe under Article 342 of the Constitution and is not a sub-tribe or synonym of “Kuki”.
The use of hybrid or unlisted names has created a false narrative and led to misuse of reservation benefits, particularly under the “Any Kuki Tribes” category, making genuine Thadou community members victims of identity suppression and ethnic misrepresentation amid the ongoing crisis in Manipur, it said.
Citing landmark Supreme Court judgments, Kumari Madhuri Patil v. Additional Commissioner (1994) and State of Maharashtra v. Milind (2000), the memorandum stressed that appointments secured through invalid certificates must be invalidated and that States are duty-bound to establish permanent Scrutiny Committees for rigorous verification of ST claims.
The State-level scrutiny committee, once constituted, be specially empowered to function as a special investigation team (SIT) with the mandate of identifying Government employees appointed since 2003 using invalid ST certificates.
The scrutiny committee or SIT be mandated to recommend appropriate action, including termination of services, against those found holding invalid certificates; investigate issuing authorities and recruiting departments for negligence, and suggest strong procedural safeguards, including a uniform step-by-step process and safeguards against issuance of ST certificates to non-indigenous persons or foreign Nationals, TIM demanded.
TIM has further urged that the scrutiny committee serve as a permanent mechanism to ensure transparent and lawful verification of all future ST claims in the State, thereby protecting the Constitutional rights of genuine indigenous Scheduled Tribes and promoting social harmony.
TIM president M James Thadou, stated, “This is a critical step towards upholding constitutional sanctity, correcting historical irregularities, and safeguarding the distinct identity and rights of the Thadou community and other genuine Scheduled Tribes of Manipur.”