SHILLONG, Sept 9: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Friday maintained that the government’s notification on CrPC and CPC cannot overrule the constitutional provisions which empower the courts created under the Sixth Schedule.

“The constitution prevails over the state laws. The Constitution has clearly mandated in para 4 & 5 that the Governor has the powers to appoint judges in the district councils…and that cannot be superseded by a notification by the government of Meghalaya,” Sangma told reporters.

This came a day after the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council (KHADC) had strongly opposed the Cabinet’s decision to approve the notification to extend the CrPC and CPC in the whole state of Meghalaya.

The KHADC has demanded the government to include the words “excluding the courts created under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution of India” in the notification to ensure the powers of the district council courts is not diluted.

Sangma, however, said the district council courts are already exempted from the government’s notification.

“There is no need to say (exemption) as Constitution gives ample protection to the district council courts and hence there is nothing to be worried or concern about as the objective of this notification is mainly and solely to ensure that the judicial magistrates under the district session courts can exercise their powers and it will not affect the powers of the district council courts,” he added.

When asked, the chief minister said, “They just want the notification to be slightly more clearer so that tomorrow nobody uses this notification and tries to encroach into their powers…. I think that is the concerns of the district councils but my reply to that… we can keep changing the words and keep changing and adding to it but ultimately the biggest protection they have is the Constitution and the Sixth Schedule itself. Para 4 & 5 have defined the powers in that and they derive the powers from that and there is no question of one notification from government of Meghalaya overruling the entire constitutional provisions and hence we can keep making the notification better but it is 99% but they want 100% so I understand their concerns but let me give the assurance to everybody that with this notification no question of any kind of encroachment or interference into the functioning of the courts that are run by the district councils.”

He added, “If tomorrow is there are any complications or confusions that arise in a case which I am pretty sure it will not, in that case the district councils can easily go to court as the para 4 & 5 of the Sixth Schedule clearly defines the powers that the district council courts have.”

He reiterated that there is no question of any kind of interference, overlapping or getting into the jurisdiction of the district council courts adding they will function as they were functioning before.

Meanwhile, the KHADC will call for a meeting with all the MDCs to discuss and take a collective decision on the matter on Monday next.