HC freeze on recruitment: Meghalaya cabinet prepares affidavit

Shillong: Following the Meghalaya High Court’s order that no recruitment will be done till the state government comes up with a roster system where the Reservation Policy is in place, Meghalaya Cabinet on Wednesday sat down to discuss and prepare its affidavit.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma informed the mediapersons that they have had a discussion in detail and are in the process of preparing the reply in an affidavit. 

“There is more homework and details to be added. We will take it up in the next few days,” stated Sangma.

The chief minister added that since it has a lot of issues, so it is an important to ensure proper homework.  

The Meghalaya High Court had found it alarming that despite 50 years of statehood and an equal number of years of reservation in government jobs, a roster system was absent. The High Court made this observation while hearing a writ petition on April 6, 2022.

A two-judge bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh, in its order, said, “Absence of any roster system in the reservation policy leaves open possibilities of nepotism and arbitrariness and worse forms of subversion… the further recruitment processes for all posts in thesState will remain stayed in the sense that no further appointments will be made until the roster system is put in place and the rosters are prepared in respect of all posts whereupon, after applying the reservation policy, future recruitment can be conducted by adhering to the ratio of reservation.”

When asked why no roster system was in place Sangma said that it was not there in the last 50 years. “We had in fact create the first roster for Persons With Disability (PWD). It was not there for the physically disabled, it was this govt that did that and based on the roster system, there is a proper chart that is followed,” he added. 

It maybe mentioned that on July 10, 2020, the Meghalaya Cabinet had approved a 100-point roster system to implement 4% reservation for persons with benchmark disabilities in accordance with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

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