Assam-Meghalaya Border Dispute: SC To Hear Plea Challenging HC Order

Assam and Meghalaya governments on Friday moved to Supreme Court challenging the orders of the Meghalaya High Court staying the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by chief ministers of both the states for settling the boundary disputes.

A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the matter needed an urgent hearing as the single and division bench of the high court have stayed the operation of the inter-state border pact which was signed earlier last year.

"We will hear it. Please provide three copies of the petition," the CJI said as reported by PTI.

A single judge bench of the Meghalaya High Court on December 9 had ordered an interim stay on physical demarcation or erection of boundary posts on the ground in connection with the inter-state border pact.

Later a division bench of the high court refused to interfere with the order of the single judge bench leading to filing of an appeal in the top court.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his Assam counterpart Himanta Biswa Sarma had in March signed an MoU, demarcating the border in at least six of the 12 contested locations that often raised tensions between the two states.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah by the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya on March 29 last year.

The pact sought to resolve the protracted dispute in six of the 12 places along the 9-km border between the two states.

The boundary dispute between Assam and Meghalaya has lingered for 50 years.

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