Cabinet approves notification, govt says no question of diluting powers of ADCs

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaSeptember 7, 2022

The state Cabinet on Wednesday approved the notification which seeks to apply the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to the courts in the state.

“After clarifying all the concerns of the autonomous district councils (ADCs), we have gone ahead today to clear the notification,” Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma told reporters after the meeting.

The notification states “In pursuant of full separation of judiciary from the executive and in exercise of the powers conferred in proviso to sub section 2 of section 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 Act II of 1974, the Governor of Meghalaya is pleased to apply the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 to the courts in the state of Meghalaya. The District Council Courts shall continue to derive powers under para 4 and 5 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India. The Governor of Meghalaya further direct that notwithstanding such applications all actions taken by the district courts throughout Meghalaya under the rules for administration of justice and police in the Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills, 1937 and the rules for administration of justice and police in Garo Hills, 1937 shall deem to have been taken under the relevant provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.”

He said the government had received the written comments of the KHADC and JHADC and a verbal communication from GHADC on the matter.

When asked, the chief minister said there is no more doubt as there is no question of the powers of the district councils being diluted in any way.

“The reason being…because under para 4 & 5 of the Sixth Schedule, it has already been mentioned there so the powers that have been conferred by the Parliament cannot be simply removed here at the cabinet level,” he said.

Sangma said that the notification was to simply allow the judicial magistrate to draw their powers from some provisions of law.

He said“We had the judiciary ADCs who used to exercise powers and take up cases in the district level and now that they are no longer judiciary ADCs because now they are judicial magistrate, the judicial magistrate could not draw their powers from any particular law or source or rules it was not there, so hence they have to draw their powers from some provisions and they had to be given that powers so hence what the ADC judiciary used to do before, the magistrates will continue to do that, that’s all. But as I said this notification is simply allowing them to draw that power, a power that has always been exercised by the judiciary ADC in the past when the separation between the judiciary and the executive was not there.”