‘CrPC not applicable in scheduled areas’

SHILLONG: The Chief Justice of the High Court Meghalaya said on Friday the various sections of the Criminal Penal Code are not applicable to most parts of the State because of the Sixh Schedule.
Justice Dinesh Maheshwari was speaking on the occasion of the inaugural session of a 40-hour training programme on mediation at the conference hall of the High Court.
Maheshwari said the State’s culture and the amalgamation of the traditional and the classical judicial systems are a wonderful study for the function of the judiciary.
“There is one particular city in the country, that is Shillong whose name is mentioned in Section 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, where the code is not applicable except in some wards. In fact the CrPC is not at all applicable in most parts of Meghalaya because of the provisions of the Sixth Schedule,” he added.
State judicial officials will be trained in many aspects of mediation, which is part of the Alternative Dispute Resolution method for speedy disposal of cases.
Recounting his association in a similar training programme when he was the Judge In-charge Mediation in the Rajasthan High Court sometime in 2011, the Chief Justice said the 40-hour training programme is for sharpening of communication and negotiation skill as mediators. The training programme was organised by the High Court Mediation Committee along with the Meghalaya State Legal Services and conducted by the Mediation and Conciliation and Project Committee of the Supreme Court.
Trainers Arun Kumar Arya, Manmohan Sharma, Reeta Kohli and Dr Gopal Arora from Delhi and Punjab are the resource persons. The training will be in two phases — from July 28-30 and August 18-20.
Justice VP Vaish, Judge In-charge Mediation of the High Court who was also present on the occasion, spoke on the importance of mediation and how it will benefit the Judicial Officers who will undergo this training.