JUDICIAL activism has become a subject of constant discussion, debate and often a matter of controversy, in India in general and in Meghalaya in particular. According to Justice A M Ahmadi, former Chief Justice of India, “judicial activism is a necessary adjunct of the judicial function since the protection of public interest as opposed to private interest happens to be the main concern”. Since the establishment of Meghalaya High Court on 23rd March, 2013, many thought provoking and progressive judgements were passed by the Judges of this High Court which have proved that such judgments are essential for a dynamic, vibrant and participative democracy. The judgment about the authority of the traditional heads in Meghalaya, the judgment on unauthorised high rise buildings of the who’s who in Shillong, banning media from publishing bandh call notices of banned organizations like HNLC and GNLA and other militant groups operating in Meghalaya, and orders of summoning and making the district officials accountable when business establishments were closed during the illegal bandhs by the banned outfits are a few historic judgments and Orders that set the intelligentsia and executive in constant introspection and course correction.
The judgment on the authority of the traditional heads of Meghalaya led to the drafting of the Village Administration Bill for the first time since the formation of Meghalaya in 1972. The order on the illegal high rise structures in Shillong resulted in CBI enquiry against MUDA Officers; an orders of this Hon’ble Court held the district officials in Mawkyrwat accountable for the ill treatment meted out to a mentally challenged person. And for the first time in the last two decades, people celebrated Independence Day this year. It would seem therefore that the best thing that could happen to Meghalaya is the establishment of the Meghalaya High Court. Its proactive judicial intervention has woken up the officials who have been somnolent. The police department too has been hauled up on a number of occasions. When the executive fails the judiciary has to step in to correct the anomalies that have crept in through executive inaction and lethargy. The High court is setting many things right in Meghalaya