Shillong, Feb 19: The issue of illegal coal mining resurfaced in the House on Day 4 of the Budget Session 2026-27 when VPP MLA from Mawlai Brightstarwell Marbaniang called the Speaker’s attention to it.
Emphasising that the issue should not have been barred from discussion in the House, Marbaniang said legal technicalities must not be allowed to become a shield for executive accountability.
That illegal coal mining persists despite a judicial ban is an administrative issue, not a judicial one, he said, and pointed out that parliamentary precedent held that a matter is not sub judice if a discussion does not influence a judicial trial.
“More than 30 families are mourning… When such a loss occurs, the public looks to this House for answers. The motion was disallowed on the grounds that the matter was subjudice… This Assembly is the only forum to discuss state policy failures,” the MLA said, adding that silence in the House would be perceived as indifference to the tragedy and the lives lost.
The MLA raised concerns that if every governance lapse was deemed subjudice because of a subsequent FIR or PIL, then voices would be silenced, and this should not be allowed. Yet again, the Speaker disallowed discussion on the matter, reiterating sub judice.
