Moa Jamir
Where is Nagaland’s ‘State of affairs’ heading? Going by the flurry of observations and directions made by the Kohima Bench of Guwahati High Court, particularly in the recent past, the legislative and executive organs of the government appear to be in limbo, necessitating intervention from the third organ – the judiciary.
While frequent judicial intervention is often viewed with concerns from various quarters, in the case of Nagaland, it is deemed justified and can be considered as the effective medium to make concerned authorities act on various policy and governance issues. Devoid of this, the usual ‘state of affairs' continues.
The general public, likewise, have begun to recognise that the only way to break out from the vicious circle is to petition for court’s intervention via the instrument of the public interest litigation (PIL) and compelling the relevant concerned authorities act.
Two recent interventions are clearly illustrative.
The first intervention, already discussed in this column earlier, is the Nagaland Staff Selection Board, partially constituted only after repetitive and strong instructions from the High Court.
The second is the case of the Nagaland Medical College (NMC), the State's first medical college currently under construction in Phriebagei under Kohima district. On its latest hearing on February 22, the Kohima Bench, among others, chided the State Government for the slow pace of works, which have averaged just 10% in one year.
In a sharp observation, Justice Songkhupchung Serto and Justice Devashis Baruah stated: “When we compare the work progress as given in the affidavit filed on 18/3/2021 and the one given in the latest affidavit filed today we found that the progress made in respect of all the components during the last one year are at the average of 10% only.”
Taking this into account, it noted that starting of the medical college this year with first batch of MBBS, “in these infrastructures would not be possible,” though a team of officers led by the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department appearing before the Court on February 16, 2021 apprised it that the “Medical college project would be completed by 2022, and the first batch of MBBS students will be admitted for the session 2022-2023.”
The Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, who laid the foundation for the college way back in March 2014, also informed the State Assembly in February 2021 that the State Government is “planning to apply for starting the Kohima Medical College from the academic year 2022-23 to the National Medical Commission (NMC).”
However, the Court also observed that the affidavit filed on February 22 by the counsel representing the medical department was devoid of the “Intent and Letter of Permission” required to be obtained from the NMC as per the Regulation 2022 have “not yet been obtained and formation of society under whom the management of the Medical college has to be placed has not been formed till today.”
While the Government counsel submitted that he has been informed that alternative arrangements are being made to facilitate starting of the college with the admission of the first batch of MBBS this year, the Court directed the Chief Secretary, Nagaland to file a comprehensive affidavit “showing how the medical college project would be completed within the shortest time and how the Government will ensure starting of the college this year” listing the matters again after 3 weeks.
Such regular directions and chidings from the Court has now become a norm, not an exception. It aptly illustrates the sorry ‘State of affairs,’ warranting the intervention of the judiciary, the third organ of the Government, to steer the future course of action.
For any comment on ‘State of affairs,’ drop a line to jamir.moa@gmail.com
