The Meghalaya High Court had said a few days ago that such regulation cannot be exercised
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said a gate set up on the highway to state capital Shillong to regulate entry of Indian nationals cannot be stopped as it doubles as a checking point for COVID-19 protocols.
The Meghalaya High Court had said a few days ago that such a regulation cannot be exercised.
The gateway to document the entry and exit of citizens beyond Meghalaya is at Umling in Ri-Bhoi district.
Necessary action will be taken as per the order of the court. But at the same time, this place also serves as a check point for the COVID protocol and hence cannot be stopped,” Mr. Sangma said, adding that the government will examine how to proceed with the High Court order.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh made its observation after hearing a PIL challenging the constitutional validity of entry-exit gates into the state.
The petitioners submitted that gates were set up at several points to check people wishing to enter the state, but without setting any objective criteria to control the entry or movement of any citizen of the country.
“Such a check-post cannot be allowed and the exercise of authority there can be completely arbitrary,” the petitioners said.
The entry-exit gates were established through the implementation of the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act, 2016.
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