Conrad allays fear on CrPC, CPC

SHILLONG, Sep 9: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday assured the autonomous district councils that the notification of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, and the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), 1908, will not encroach upon or interfere with the functioning of their courts.
There is no question of taking away or diluting the powers of the ADC courts, he said while replying to a question on the apprehension of the district councils.
Stating that the decision of the government to come out with this notification was purely to complete the process of segregating the judiciary from the executive, Sangma said the in-charge of the ADC judiciary used to act as the judge in a district court when there was no segregation.
The powers of the ADC judiciary were derived from a 1937 law that said a deputy commissioner will act as a judge, he added.
The ADC judiciary ceased to exist after the segregation of the judiciary from the executive, Sangma explained.
“The notification was necessary to allow the judicial magistrates we have today to continue what the ADC judiciary was doing,” he said, adding that this was the sole purpose of the notification.
“It in no way impacts the functioning of the district councils and is not going to take their power,” Sangma said.
“If any complication or confusion arises, the ADCs can easily go to the court. Sec 4 and paras 4 and 5 of the Sixth Schedule define the powers of the ADC courts,” he said.
On the demand for exempting the ADC courts from the purview of the notification, Sangma said they discussed the issue with the district councils a couple of times and convinced them. “The district council courts are already exempted and the Constitution gives them ample protection,” he said.