SHILLONG: Chief Justice of the High Court of Meghalaya, Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal, on Saturday inaugurated the seminar on district council courts of Meghalaya at the Conference Hall, High Court of Meghalaya, here.
Speaking on the event organised by by the Meghalaya State Judicial Academy, Mittal said that the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India is a mini Constitution governing the administration of tribal areas of the Northeastern part of the country.
Stating that the Sixth Schedule is aimed at granting some kind of autonomy to the tribal populace so that they could be guided by their customary laws and practices and not be pushed to conform to a modern system of governance where they might not be able to negotiate their own liberal political space and to grow according to their own genius, he added that It provides for administration of certain tribal areas as autonomous entities.
He pointed out that Article 244 of the Constitution provides for administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas. The Constitution makes special provisions for the administration of the tribal dominated areas in the four states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
As per article 244 and Sixth Schedule, these areas are called “Tribal Areas “, which are technically different from the Scheduled Areas under the Fifth Schedule. According to Mittal, there is a unique system of administration of justice in Meghalaya where three sets of judicial institutions or functionaries and laws are in place.
Firstly, in the normal areas of Shillong, (the three municipal wards of Police Bazar, Jail Road, European Ward and the Cantonment area), the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Civil Procedure Code are applicable as such, both in letter and in spirit. The Court of the District Judge and his subordinates have jurisdiction over these areas as per the provisions of the Bengal, Agra, Assam Civil Courts Act, 1887. The explanation to sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 distinctly recognises such a unique feature relating to Shillong.
Secondly, the Deputy Commissioner and his assistants are empowered to try civil and criminal cases in the entire state, barring the normal areas of Shillong, under different provisions
The last set of judicial system in the state is found in the functioning of the District Council courts having jurisdiction within the areas covered by the Autonomous District Councils duly constituted under the provisions of the Sixth Schedule.
Earlier, Justice H S Thangkhiew said that the Autonomous District Council courts of KHADC, JHADC and GHADC are empowered to constitute courts for trials of cases between parties belonging to Scheduled Tribe communities, adding that the district council court for each district consists of qualified Judicial Officers, designated as Judges and Magistrates who are appointed by the Executive Committee with the approval of the Governor under The United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District (Administration of Justice) Rules, 1953.
He also informed that under the United Khasi-Jaintia Hills District (Administration of Justice) Rules, 1953, three classes of courts have been provided, namely Village Courts, Subordinate District Council Courts and District Council Court.
After dwelling in detail about the powers and functions of the district courts and the intricacy of traditional laws encountered in dispute resolutions, Justice Thangkhiew felt the need to put in place an efficient mechanism of administration of justice and expressed hoped that this seminar will deliberate on measures for a better administration of justice for the benefit of the people.
