The Meghalaya High Court today decided to hear in March an appeal by cabinet minister Ampareen Lyngdoh to quash criminal proceedings against her in the infamous Education Scam of 2009.
The hearing has been scheduled on March 11, 2025 at 10:30 am.
The single bench of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji said that the court will also hear the appeal made by the Criminal Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the same day.
According to the court the petitions filed by the minister are on various grounds and the ground made out is that the charge-sheet does not disclose any offence.
The high court has also directed the trial court to go ahead with examination of witnesses on March 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 but asked the CBI to indicate to the criminal court whether it would go ahead with the examination of all the witnesses or with a limited number or seek further time to consider whether to produce the current list of witnesses or a truncated list.
In December last year, the high court had suggested the CBI to cut short the list of 162 witnesses in the criminal case involving the minister. It also indicated the desire for early disposal of the criminal case.
“If the CBI has taken a decision the learned trial court shall proceed. If it seeks further time to take a decision on the issue, further examination of witnesses after examination of the witnesses already in the box shall be kept in abeyance till the decision is made by the CBI,” the court said.
Today, the court was informed that around 21 witnesses for the prosecution have been examined. The counsel for the accused told the court that the number of witnesses proposed to be examined by CBI has crossed 400, but the high court said the Deputy Solicitor General was unable to confirm the number.
It may be mentioned that the CBI had charge-sheeted Lyngdoh and retired government officials, J D Sangma and Ameka Lyngdoh for manipulating score sheets of candidates in the infamous Education Scam of 2009.
The High Court in 2017 ordered the CBI to take over the investigation registered by Meghalaya police relating to alleged mass manipulation, tampering score sheets and interference in the selection of assistant teachers in lower primary schools in 2008-09.
