SHILLONG, July 7: The High Court of Meghalaya on Tuesday disposed of a PIL filed by North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum challenging the long-standing practice of applying the state’s 1972 Job Reservation Policy to allocate state-quota seats in professional courses such as MBBS, engineering, paramedical, architecture, agriculture and veterinary sciences.
Advocate General Amit Kumar submitted at the outset that the PIL did not comply with the mandatory PIL Rules. Counsel for the petitioner then sought leave to withdraw the petition with liberty to either file a representation before the appropriate authority or move a fresh petition strictly in accordance with the rules.
The court disposed of the petition as withdrawn, granting the liberty as prayed for.
The State Reservation Policy has served as a key affirmative action tool in Meghalaya to safeguard government employment opportunities for indigenous ST communities.
Earlier, in his PIL, Nongrum had contended that no separate reservation policy has been framed specifically for academic admissions.
He argued that the categories and quantum of reservation currently being followed for educational seats are directly borrowed from the employment reservation policy.
The PIL further stated that reservation is an exception to the constitutional principle of equality and cannot be implemented without proper legal backing, making the current practice illegal and unconstitutional.
