From C K Nayak
NEW DELHI: The stalemate arising out of the High Court of Meghalaya’s order curtailing the powers of the traditional heads in the State was taken up with Congress president Sonia Gandhi by Shillong MP Vincent Pala.
During his meeting with the Congress president, Pala urged her to stand by the indigenous people of Meghalaya and help reverse the High Court order.
The High Court of Meghalaya recently ordered the arrest of Sordar of Wahkhen village in East Khasi Hills, Skhembor Khongjirem and remanded him in judicial custody for 20 days for violating the court order passed on December 10 last barring traditional heads from issuing no objection certificates (NOC).
The High Court had, on April 23, slapped a show cause notice on Khongjirem for continuing to issue certificates to residents of his village in contempt of the court order and had directed the Sordar to appear in person before the court on April 29 after taking cognizance of media reports that he was still issuing certificates to residents.
“There is a feeling amongst the village communities that not much has been done by the Congress Government in the State to defend the customary position before the High Court when the headman was struggling all by himself in the clash between the customs and the court,” Pala also said in a letter addressed to Gandhi.
A copy of the letter was also handed to the party vice president, Rahul Gandhi in presence of the AICC secretary in charge Meghalaya, V Narayanswamy.
The opposition parties have already started exploiting the situation and trying to portray the Congress as the betrayer of the customary cause, Pala said.
“Before these opportunists make a deep dent into the image of the party and the Government, serious efforts need to be taken to assure the village communities and institutions in the State that the Congress stands by them at this adverse moment and will also reverse the situation caused by the aforesaid order of the Court,” he added.
A Division Bench of the High Court of Meghalaya comprising Chief Justice Uma Nath Singh and Justice TNK Singh, maintain that the headmen in Meghalaya did not have any powers under the Constitution of India or any law for issuing NOCs for the purpose of birth/death registration or for registration of any document as well as for building permissions or for obtaining loan.
But in reality the village headman has all right to such powers under customary law, Pala said.
Traditionally, the headmen, the myntris (ministers) and the kings of the villages run practically all grass root level administration as per customary law, traditions and practices, in Meghalaya, Pala said in his letter.
In view of the prevalence of the customary law, the Constitution itself has exempted Meghalaya from the Panchayati Raj, he pointed out.
Several legislations and rules that espouse the customary law of Meghalaya also stood adopted under Section 70 of the North Eastern Areas (Reorganization) Act, 1971 by enacting the Meghalaya Adaptation of Laws Order, 1972.
The position of customary law and the powers of the institutional authorities in the village administration have, therefore, to be critically appreciated vis a vis the provisions in the Constitution and any other law including the law relating to Contempt of Courts, he said.
The clash between the headman and the High Court has spread swiftly with the former being incarcerated and fined in speedy succession, Pala said.
This has shaken up the entire society in Meghalaya and friction is building up at various levels of the village societies, as the fault lines have been jettisoned by this judgement, he said.
The former Union Minister also recalled Rahul’s visit to Meghalaya during the last the Assembly Election when he met the village kings, myntris and headmen all of whom extended their support to the Congress.
They believed that the Congress is the only party that has been and is the ardent advocate of the tribals’ cause including their traditions, customs, heritage and the unwritten code that preserves them on the basis of their historic wisdom, he added.
It may be reminded that the High Court, while questioning the powers of the traditional heads in the State, had observed that a village/ locality headman did not derive any right from law, and rule or from the Constitution of India to issue NOC for the purpose of birth/death or for registration of any document as well as for building permission and obtaining loan.
Further, the court order passed on December 10 last year had directed the Meghalaya government and its district administration not to ask people to obtain NOC from headmen.
But the headman had claimed that the certificates have greatly helped residents, especially farmers who are applying for loan and various government schemes.