Correspondent
IMPHAL, MAY 24
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]n Imphal court on Saturday fixed the judgment day of chargesheet hearing of Manipur’s human rights activist Irom Sharmila on June 4.
For the first time, the state government’s prosecution has submitted a chargesheet against Sharmila, seeking her punishment under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. As no chargesheet was filed against her till now, she was never convicted of attempting to commit suicide.
“The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Imphal East court fixed the date of the judgment day,” legal sources here said. “The day’s hearing was the final hearing.”Sharmila who is presently being forced fed through her noses at JNIMS security ward in Imphal, is on a fast unto death agitation since November 2000 to have the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act repealed.
The act provides unlimited powers to security forces to shoot at sight and arrest anybody without a warrant. She launched an indefinite hunger strike in 2000 after she heard the killing of 10 people by Assam Rifles soldiers in Malom village on the outskirts Imphal.
After appearing in one of the hearing of the ongoing case, Sharmila expressed her desire to meet Prime Minister designate Narendra Modi on the sideline of her visit to national capital on May 27.
She hoped that the new government under the leadership of Narendra Modi will listen to her voice against the AFSPA. “Because the people give the vote for a change,” Sharmila said adding “So I want to meet Modi.”
Sharmila will be leaving Imphal on May 27 to appear before the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala Court in New Delhi on May 28. She would be accompanied by a doctor, two nurses, a women police team and two jail officials in New Delhi. Meanwhile, JD(U) state chief M. Tombi had also assured that his party will extend help Sharmila to meet Modi in Delhi.
On May 13, CJM court in Imphal has allowed Sharmila to appear before the Patiala house court in New Delhi in connection with a pending case against her for staging a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in October 2006.
