From Our Special Correspondent
Mukul’s tribal status case
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday put off a hearing to decide the tribal status of Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma as one of the judges in the bench had appeared for the petitioner as an advocate earlier this year.
The court did not take up matter as one of the judges – Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman – in the bench had appeared for the petitioner as an advocate earlier this year, sources said.
Justice Nariman was recently elevated as a judge in the Supreme Court. He had appeared as a counsel in the apex court and also as counsel for Tennydard M. Marak and All North East Indigenous Garo Law Promoters Association (ANEIGLPA) against Sangma.
The court, which did not fix any fresh date for hearing the matter, decided that the matter would be heard by a bench, of which Justice Nariman is not a member.
The next date of hearing will be fixed by the Supreme Court in a day or two, court sources said.
The Supreme Court had issued notices to the Meghalaya Government and seven others in the case related to the ST status of Chief Minister earlier. It had stayed the proceedings of the state level scrutiny committee.
The other recipients of the notice of the apex court are- the Union Government, National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, the Election Commissions of India, the Scrutiny Committee, Sangma himself besides his brother Zenith and sister Tripti Rani.
Marak filed a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that Sangma had fraudulently obtained the Scheduled Tribe certificate by “misrepresentation and suppressing the material facts”.
The ANEIGLPA had alleged that Sangma did not belong to the Sangma clan and that he used his surname only to obtain a Scheduled Tribe certificate.