SHILLONG, May 20: The High Court of Meghalaya on Tuesday granted permission to the counsel of Jeffrey D Sangma, former Director in the Department of School Education, to file a compilation containing the specific charges levelled against his client in the 2008-09 criminal case pertaining to the selection and appointment of assistant teachers in Lower Primary Schools in the state.
In an order, the single bench of Chief Justice IP Mukerji said the case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the charge against the accused is of subverting the selection process by interpolating, forging or fabricating the examination result sheets to help specific candidates.
“Applications under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, now Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), have been made to this Court by the three accused for quashing of the proceedings. The prosecuting agency CBI has also made an application before this Court complaining of the order passed by the criminal court,” the order said.
Senior advocate Salman Khurshid concluded arguments on behalf of one of the accused who is a Cabinet Minister of the state.
During the hearing, the counsel of Sangma sought the leave of the court to file a compilation containing the specific charges out of the countless charges levelled against his client.
“By this exercise, learned counsel would try to demonstrate before the Court that the charges are vague, uncertain and do not point to or disclose any offence against his client. Such leave is granted,” the court said in its order.
The court said the compilation may be filed by June 4, 2025, and listed the applications for further consideration on June 13, 2025.
“All subsisting interim orders shall continue till disposal of these applications or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” the court said.
