Irked by the failure of the State government to follow the procedures for transportation of coal and the delay to file the affidavit on the matter, the Meghalaya High Court today ordered Chief Secretary Rebecca V. Suchiang to report to the High Court’s Registrar-General and bring the affidavit within this week.
The division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh was hearing the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Tennydard M. Marak regarding the movement of illegal coal in the State.
Marak had asserted that illegally mined coal is transported in heavy vehicles without following the procedure prescribed under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 and the relevant rules.
“It is distressing that despite the previous directions and an extension granted on February 14, 2022, the State’s affidavit has not been filed,” the High Court said.
The High Court also said that it has the authority, in such circumstances, “to have the responsible officer paraded in court for the repeated failure to comply with the directions”.
“As a last chance, the Chief Secretary is directed to carry the affidavit to court and have it filed in the course of this week. The Chief Secretary will report to the Registrar-General for such purpose. Let this be an example so that there is no further dereliction of such kind on the part of the State in adhering to directions for filing affidavits,” the High Court said in the order.
“It may also be recorded that it gives the court no pleasure to behave like a headmaster dealing with adolescent school students,” the order added.
The matter will be heard again on March 7.
Meanwhile, the division bench of the High Court also today took up the PIL filed by Pawan Sharma regarding illegal coal mining in the State.
However, the High Court decided to list the matter for hearing on April 12 since a suo motu notice of an article published last week in a local newspaper regarding illegal coal mining at Nengchiken village of West Khasi Hills has been taken by the court and the matter will be heard on March 2 when independent reports will be filed before the court by the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police.
“If, in future, something of substance is produced by the petitioner, independent of what has been reported in newspapers and what may come out from the reports to be filed in the suo motu proceedings, the petition may be tagged along with the matter initiated at the instance of the court,” the order said.
