High Court stays all Meghalaya govt recruitment processes

The Meghalaya High Court stayed all recruitment processes of the state government until a roster system is put in place. Hearing a petition, a bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee described the absence of a roster system as a "deplorable state of affairs", which leaves open possibilities of nepotism and arbitrariness, and worse forms of subversions.

"The further recruitment processes for all posts in the State will remain stayed in the sense that no further appointments will be made until the roster system is put in place," the court said while hearing the matter on Tuesday.

"This will apply across State government agencies and instrumentalities in the State wherever the reservation policy is in vogue," it added.


It was "alarming" that despite 50 years of statehood and an equal number of years of reservation in government jobs, the roster system is absent, the court observed.

"This Bench was constrained to raise a question in course of a recent matter as to how the reservation policy could be implemented without a roster," it asked.

The court expressed shock that the same "distressing feature" existed while filling up various posts in the high court over the last decade of its existence.

Advocate General Amit Kumar, who appeared for the state government, acknowledged that reservation cannot be implemented without a roster.

The matter will be heard again on April 20, the court said.