The Shillong Times: Shilong: Tuesday,
May 24, 2016.
The High
Court of Meghalaya has summoned secretary health department and asked the
Additional Chief Secretary to file specific affidavit on the PIL related to the
harassment to the people as registrars of births and deaths in the district
insist for a court order for birth/death certificates when approached after one
year of the births or deaths.
A law student
Aneeta Synrem of Polo Hills had filed the PIL seeking the intervention of the
High Court following the findings of RTI query which revealed that as many as
58,716 birth certificates and 2115 death certificates were issued from
01/01/2010 to 22/09/2015 by different registrars of births and deaths under
East Khasi Hills on the basis of court order.
As the High
Court was not happy with the response of the health department during the
previous hearings on May 11 and 16, the Court wanted further clarity from the
state government and hence asked the Additional Chief Secretary in-charge health to file a specific affidavit.
According to
the recent order on May 20, the High Court said that in the petition filed as PIL, the petitioner
had brought forth several of the shortcomings in the operation of Registration
of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (‘the Act of 1969’) and the Rules framed
thereunder in Meghalaya, causing hardship to the common people.
During the
hearing on May 11 after prima facie noticing that the Act of 1969 and the Rules
framed there under are not being properly applied in Meghalaya, the High Court
had posted a few queries to be answered by the health department. However, the
affidavit filed by the Secretary, Health and Family Welfare department was
rather cryptic and even questionable.
Later,
another specific affidavit filed by the Secretary was also not found
satisfactory.
The High Court hence observed that having
given the chance twice to the Secretary concerned to come out forthright, when
the response was still not categorical and the issues raised in the matter were
not properly attended at, “we are left with no alternative but to consider
summoning the Secretary concerned in the Court with all the records including
the record relating to enquiry proceedings, at least concerning the 39 cases
referred in the affidavit of the Shillong Municipal Board”.
The Court
also insisted that the Additional Chief Secretary should file a specific
affidavit in this regard. The matter will come up for hearing after two weeks.
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