Shillong, Dec 5: The Supreme Court has temporarily stayed the order of the High Court of Meghalaya which disallowed the district council courts in taking up criminal and civil cases involving the tribals.
Addressing a press conference at his office chamber on Thursday, the KHADC Deputy CEM PN Syiem said the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council has moved the Supreme Court through senior advocate Vijay Hansaria.
During the hearing on December 2, Hansaria argued t that in view of the special provisions of law made for the concerned area in Meghalaya districts, in those cases where, both the victim and the accused are local tribals, the trial has to be conducted by the District Council court and not by
the regular Sessions Court.
The Supreme Court has issued notice
returnable in six weeks.
In 2023, the High Court had upheld the order of conviction of an accused by the sessions court, Nongpoh though the matter was not taken up by the district council court.
“In the meantime, the operation of the observation in Paragraph Nos.34 and 38 of the impugned judgment dated 17.02.2023 in Criminal Appeal No.1/2020 with Criminal M.C. No.2/2020 and Criminal M.C.
No.3/2020, are stayed as an ad interim measure. At this stage, notice need not be issued to the convicted person i.e., respondent No.4. However, it is open to the said respondent, if aggrieved by the impugned judgment, to explore all available legal options”, the SC said .
