Shillong: The Meghalaya government has filed an affidavit in the High Court of Meghalaya to challenge a Public Interest Litigation filed by North Shillong MLA Adelbert Nongrum. The petition disputes the state's use of its 1972 Job Reservation Policy to distribute seats in professional courses including medicine, engineering, and veterinary sciences.
Under the current system, the state government allocates central pool seats provided by the Union government based on the employment quotas established for indigenous tribes and unreserved categories. Nongrum argues that this practice is unconstitutional because the state lacks a specific legislative framework for educational reservations. He contends that the government is improperly applying an employment policy to academic admissions, noting that "reservation is a constitutionally recognised exception to the right to equality under Article 14 and therefore requires proper legislative backing."
Advocate General Amit Kumar represented the state government, focusing his initial arguments on the maintainability of the petition. The government maintains that the current allocation method is a necessary executive policy designed to uphold social equity and protect the interests of local communities. The Division Bench, consisting of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh, has scheduled the next hearing for July 7.
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