Kohima: The Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench struck down sweeping excommunication orders issued by village authorities in Mokokchung, ruling that customary institutions cannot override constitutional guarantees of liberty, equality, and free movement. In an October 27 judgment, Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer set aside four separate announcements issued by the Yaongyimsen Riongsanger Putu Menden and the Yaongyimsen Senso Mungdang.
The dispute began over the founding date of the Chümoukedima Yaongyimsen Union. One faction claimed it started in 1989, while another asserted 2001. On March 14, 2024, the Putu Menden dissolved the existing union and ordered the 2001 faction to start a new office. By April 4, the Putu Menden had excommunicated three petitioners and their children. On October 21, the Senso Mungdang announced the excommunication of 42 residents in Chümoukedima, including 38 petitioners and their families, via an Ao language daily. A subsequent December 10 notice threatened permanent excommunication if the individuals did not return to the village within seven days.
The court rejected the respondents' claims that these bodies were immune to judicial oversight because they were private customary institutions. Justice Longkumer ruled that institutions performing public functions and affecting legal rights are subject to writ jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution, regardless of their status under Article 12. The court found that the excommunications infringed upon Articles 14, 19, and 21. It explicitly noted that the restrictions harmed wives and children who had no involvement in the underlying dispute.
Justice Longkumer stated, "Articles 29 and 371A could not protect excommunication and restrictions that violated fundamental rights." The ruling distinguished these traditional Ao Naga institutions from statutory Village Councils created under the 1978 Act. While the court quashed the excommunication orders, it left the original dispute regarding the union's establishment year unresolved, noting that the issue should be settled by an appropriate forum.
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