The Supreme Court in an urgent move stayed the operation of the impugned order passed by the Meghalaya High Court staying the imposition of a memorandum of understanding between the State of Assam and Meghalaya with respect to the demarcation of physical land boundaries between the two states.

The matter was mentioned before the bench led by the Chief Justice of India which the CJI considering urgency listed at 2 O'clock yesterday on 06.01.2023 and passed the following order:-

"Prima facie, the single-judge has not furnished any reason for the interim order, and whether the MoUs will require parliamentary approval is a distinct issue. But the interim order staying the MoU was not warranted. Thus, the interim order of the single-judge is hereby stayed,"

Both state governments signed the MoU in March last year for resolving their border dispute at six border areas of conflict. The High Court has stayed the physical demarcation and erection of posts pursuant to the land boundary agreement.

Some residents of the State of Meghalaya had filed petitions before the Meghalaya High Court contending therein that the agreement includes a lot of tribal areas, land, and villages was done without consulting the autonomous bodies which resulted in the abrogation of fundamental rights of those individuals. 

The State of Meghalaya had approached the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

Th Meghayala High Court is undergoing its long winter vacation.

Case Details:-

D.No. 944/2023

The State of Meghalaya v. R. Hamberly