Supreme Court Stays HC Order On Agreement Between Assam And Meghalaya To Settle Border Dispute

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma in March last year signed an MoU for demarcating the border in at least six of the 12 contested locations

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with his Meghalaya counterpart Conrad Sangma

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday halted the execution of Meghalaya High Court order that stayed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the chief ministers of both states to resolve the Meghalaya-Assam border disputes, news agency PTI reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala took cognizance of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and the lawyers representing Assam and Meghalaya, and ordered a stay on the Meghalaya HC order.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma in March last year signed an MoU for demarcating the border in at least six of the 12 contested locations, that often led to disputes between the two states.

The pact was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and it was to remain in effect till February 23.

The top court bench on Friday took note of the submissions that some of the areas covered under the MoU are not getting the benefits of the developmental schemes and moreover, the boundary between the two states has not been altered due to the agreement.

The apex court also issued notices to the four people who had moved the high court against execution of the MoU on various grounds, including that the settlement breached Article 3 of the Constitution, that empowers Parliament to make a law related to formation of new states and alteration of the boundaries.

Notably, a single judge bench of Meghalaya High Court on December 8 ordered an interim stay on physical demarcation on the ground following the inter-state border pact.

Later, a division bench of the high court refused to interfere with the order, prompting the petitioners to appeal in the SC.

Notably, the boundary dispute between Assam and Meghalaya has lingered for 50 years.

Meghalaya was carved out of Assam as a separate state in 1972, but the new state had challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, leading to dispute in 12 border locations.