HC directs Centre, Meghalaya govt to respond on 2016 recommendations of Linguistic forum

The Meghalaya High Court has directed the Centre and the state government to submit a report if the recommendations on development and welfare of linguistic minorities in the state made by the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in 2016 were implemented.

Hearing a PIL filed by the Meghalaya Linguistic Minority Development Forum which advocates for the rights of linguistic minorities in the state, the high court noted that while Khasi and Garo-speaking people are dominant, a significant population also speaks Bengali, Nepali, Hindi, Assamese, and other languages.

The Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities had in 2016 recommended translation of official documents into minority languages, creation of language preference registers in schools, and official recognition and support for minority language educational institutions among others.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice I P Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh asked both the Centre and the state to clarify the current status of the report before the next hearing scheduled for July 10, 2025.

''We direct learned counsel for Union of India and state to take suitable instructions in the matter with regard to the status of the report of the Commissioner dated 29th March, 2016 and report to this court before the returnable date,'' the order stated.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel also urged the Court to issue instructions to the state government to constitute a Board for Linguistic Welfare which was one of the recommendations made in 2016.

In response, the government's counsel argued that the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities does not hold absolute authority and maintained that the report should be vetted by the President of India and approved by Parliament.

The high court has now asked both the state and the Central governments to provide updates and instructions on the matter before the next hearing.

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