By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Dec 9: The High Court of Meghalaya has requested the Deputy Solicitor General of India (DSGI) to impress upon the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to cut short the list of witnesses so that the 2008-09 criminal case of alleged illegal appointments of teachers can be disposed of early.
In an order issued on Monday, a single judge bench of Chief Justice IP Mukerji said the criminal case has three accused, including a serving minister of the state.
“They are accused of illegally manipulating and subverting the process of selection and appointment of Assistant teachers in Lower Primary School, Government of Meghalaya in the year 2008-09. The investigation of the case, (PS Case No.62(07)2011, under Sections 120B, 167, 466, 408, 34 IPC), was entrusted with the CBI for investigation by this High Court,” the court said in the order.
The court learnt that the prosecution has about 162 witnesses but not more than 20 of them have been examined so far.
“The petitions filed by the accused are on various grounds. The ground made out by the first accused who is a Minister of this state is that the charge-sheet does not disclose any offence. Prima facie, I am of the view that this criminal proceeding from PS Case No.62(07)2011 stage is pending for over 13 years. It is high time it is disposed of,” the order said.
The court said if the application to quash the proceeding succeeds, then that would be the end of the matter.
“If it does not, examination of 162 witnesses would in my opinion make the proceedings extremely dilatory, long, harassive and unfair to the accused. Selection of witnesses should be so made so that only the required number to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt is produced and examined before the Court. Unnecessary witnesses and evidence should be avoided,” the court ordered.
It requested the DSGI to impress upon the CBI to cut short the list of witnesses, according to the observation above.
The court ordered that till the list is finalised by the CBI, it will make appropriate submissions before the criminal court with regard to further examination of witnesses. “The learned criminal court shall make a decision on the issue,” the court said.
The next hearing will be held on February 20, 2025.
