KHADC Chief Executive Member Titosstarwell Chyne today informed that he will convene an emergency meeting of all MDCs on September 12 to discuss the next course of action against the State government’s notification extending the operation of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) in the entire State.
Chyne said that in the last meeting with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, the KHADC had suggested to the State government to insert in the government notification the word “excluding the courts created under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution of India” and that the district council courts shall continue to derive powers under paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India.
“This kind of notification that stated that CrPC and CPC is applicable in the entire State can be interpreted that it will also apply to the village courts, subordinate courts and district council courts which will dilute the powers and function of the district council courts,” Chyne said.
“We were assured by the chief minister that the district council courts will not be affected but the notification clearly stated that it will be applicable to all courts in the State which we cannot accept,” he added.
Urging the State government to put the notification on hold as district councils are not clear on the issue, Chyne said, “If the government goes ahead with the present notification then it is better that the government closes down all the district council courts.”
Meanwhile, the Hyniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) today said that the extension of operation of CrPC and CPC would lead to closure of all village courts and subordinate courts as these courts would not afford to pay judges who have legal qualifications and having knowledge of the provisions of CrPC and CPC.
In a statement issued today, the HYC said that the Conrad Sangma government has chosen to clip the wings of district council courts, subordinate courts and village courts.
“The main question that arises is what will happen to the district council courts when it comes to adjudication of cases between tribals in tribal land. In the past, normal courts adjudicate cases where one party is a non-tribal and the other a tribal. Through the operation of CrPC and CPC in the State, any criminal case will now be tried by normal courts and therefore district council courts will have no more roles in criminal cases,” the HYC said.
“Even if the State government mentions in the notification that district council courts would continue to function as per paragraphs 4 and 5 of the Sixth Schedule, the question is since when district council courts need a government notification to function as far as CrPC and CPC are concerned,” the HYC added.
It also said that the notification will come into conflict with paragraph 5 (3) of the Sixth Schedule which states that CrPC and CPC will not apply in district council courts, subordinate courts and village courts.
“Here comes paragraph 12-A (a) of the Sixth Schedule. Since CrPC and CPC are central laws, the notification will prevail over the rules framed by district councils and as such district council courts, subordinate courts and village courts will cease to exist,” the HYC asserted.
Stating that the burden of CrPC and CPC will be on the litigants of the State, the HYC asked, “When the Supreme Court in some of its judgements had ruled that CrPC and CPC will not apply in scheduled areas as tribals may suffer, why is the NPP-led government going ahead with extending CrPC and CPC in the State?”
“If the State government wants to empower normal courts, it should have enacted other laws such as Meghalaya Criminal Procedure Code and Meghalaya Civil Procedure Code. Further, while enacting such laws, the government should ensure that the power of district council courts, subordinate courts and village courts are not affected. Even if CrPC and CPC are extended by notification, the district council courts, subordinate courts and village courts should be exempted from the notification,” the HYC said.
