Meghalaya: High Court conducts surprise checks on Army vehicles

The Meghalaya High Court has ordered surprise checks on Army vehicles, following reports that drugs are sometimes trafficked in military trucks, which are typically exempt from such inspections.

The order was passed by a division bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice W Diengdoh, while hearing a PIL filed by former chairperson of the Meghalaya State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) M Kharkongor.

The high court also lauded the amicus curiae for its meticulous work, which included visits to correctional facilities and opioid substitution therapy (OST) centres, as well as learning from some inmates that “high-ranking defence personnel may have been roped in” to ensure the safe passage of the drugs.

“Unbelievable though such allegation is, it has to be noticed nonetheless that according to the relevant inmate drugs are sometimes transported in Army trucks, which are generally immune from checking,” it said.

“If what is reported is true, there must also be intelligence reports received by the state in such regard and the Chief Secretary should coordinate with, inter alia, the Army and Assam Rifles, both to make the highest officials aware of the problem and for immediate action being taken,” the bench said.

During the hearing, the amicus curiae supplied information about specific locations where the drug problem exists, including various areas in Shillong and its neighbours.

“It may also do well for teams of flying Army checkers to be deployed along the route to make surprise checks on Army vehicles, which are otherwise not subjected to checks by civilian personnel,” the court said.

The bench also observed that the other area which needs to be looked into is for therapy centres to be set up within the state, as many affected families have to look beyond Meghalaya in the absence of adequate facilities.

“There may also be a need for de-addiction centres, particularly to house young female offenders,” it said.

The court fixed the next date of hearing on April 28.