All government recruiting processes have been halted by the Meghalaya high court until a roster system is in place to ensure that the recruitment policy is implemented properly.
“The further recruitment processes for all posts in the state will remain in the sense that no further appointments will be made until the roster system is put in place,” stated a bench led by Meghalaya high court Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee in an order issued on Tuesday.
Adding to it Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee also stated, “This will apply across state government agencies and instrumentalities in the state wherever the reservation policy is in vogue.”
The Meghalaya high court warned that the lack of a roster system opens the door to nepotism, arbitrariness, and other forms of subversion, and described the situation as a “deplorable state of affairs.”
Moreover, the Meghalaya high court slammed state administrators, saying it was “alarming” that the roster system remained missing despite 50 years of statehood and an equal number of years of reservation in government posts.
“This bench was constrained to raise a question in the course of a recent matter as to how the reservation policy could be implemented without a roster,” it said, according to sources.
Meanwhile, On Tuesday, Advocate General Amit Kumar, who was in Meghalaya High court for the hearing, recognised that reservation cannot be implemented without a roster.
Furthermore, while Ms ZR Marak’s petition was accepted, the bench stated that the subject would be heard as public interest litigation (PIL) at the next hearing.
Meghalaya high court expresses shock
The Meghalaya high court expressed surprise that the same “distressing feature” existed while filling several positions on the high court during its last decade of operation.
The court noted the “mistakes” in the notifications and official memos relied on by the government and said, “Mistakes that should not have happened if a proper mind was applied to the matters in issue.”
Further, the matter will be again heard on 20th April, said the court.
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