Shillong, Jul 7: The Meghalaya High Court on Tuesday allowed North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum to withdraw a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that calls to question the application of the state’s job reservation policy, specifically concerning the allocation of quota seats in higher professional courses.
Nongrum’s counsel sought leave to withdraw the case, which was subsequently disposed of by a division bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W Diengdoh.
During the hearing, Advocate General Amit Kumar highlighted that the petition does not comply with the established PIL rules, which are deemed mandatory.
The court noted the procedural discrepancies and granted the request, permitting Nongrum to either file a representation to the appropriate authority or submit a fresh petition that aligns with the PIL rules.
The petition questioned how the state government allocates the central pool quota seats for professional courses, including MBBS, engineering and agriculture.
As per the petition, the state invites applications for these seats but distributes them by applying the Meghalaya Job Reservation Policy.
“The categories of reservation, and the quantum of reservation, for selecting candidates to state quota seats in higher academic courses is taken mutatis mutandis from the job reservation policy of the state. There is no separate reservation policy for academic purposes,” the PIL said.
According to Nongrum, using a job reservation policy for academic admissions without a specific law was unconstitutional.
