Shillong (Meghalaya), April 28: The Meghalaya High Court dropped the hammer Monday on the State’s murky mineral transport numbers, calling out what looks like a bid to mislead the bench, roping in an Amicus, and hauling top officials to court after the BSF said it has zero power to check trucks at the border.
Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice H.S. Thangkhiew were livid as PIL No.4/2026 exposed a data mess. The Transport Commissioner’s report claimed 2,030 vehicles ferried 25,902 MT of minor minerals through Jaintia Hills between April 2025 and February 2026, but the Court caught it red-handed — the numbers clashed head-on with the chart buried at page 29. When cornered, Advocate General A. Kumar asked for time, while the bench put on record that prima facie someone tried to mislead the Court with cooked data in para 10 versus Annexure-6.
The rot runs deeper. Page 49 showed trucks caught breaking Sections 192, 190(2) and 179 of the Motor Vehicles Act were let off with fines and cases compounded. Yet not one prosecution was filed between 22nd and 25th April, 2026. Worse, the State had no clue if these were first-time or repeat offenders. The Court has now demanded answers: Does the Transport Department even keep a data bank of vehicles and fines? Affidavits from all departments are due by 4th May, 2026.
BSF threw up its hands too. In its status report, DSGI N. Mozika said BSF only does security and has no legal power to check licenses, PUC, fitness or truck loads at Land Customs Stations, citing a 1999 court order and a 2003 Customs letter. The DSGI got time till May 4 to file another affidavit for the Land Customs Station.
Sensing a cover-up, the bench brought in Philemon Nongbri as Amicus to crack the case. He gets all petitions, orders, and reports this week. The Commissioner of Transport and Forest Secretary have been ordered to appear in person. Next hearing: 6th May, 2026.
With 25,902 MT of minerals moving and zero prosecutions, the Court’s message is clear: No more games.
