Shillong: The High Court of Meghalaya on Thursday quashed criminal proceedings in a 17-year-old case against cabinet minister and former education minister Mazeal Ampareen Lyngdoh, along with two former education officials.
The case, dating back to 2008, pertained to alleged irregularities in the recruitment of assistant teachers in lower primary schools.
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Lyngdoh, then education minister, along with JD Sangma, the then director of elementary and mass education, and Ameka I Lyngdoh, the then deputy director, were accused of conspiring to manipulate score sheets to benefit certain candidates.
It was alleged that Lyngdoh misused her position to influence the tabulation process by issuing slips directing alterations in marks. However, the court noted that the prosecution failed to provide credible evidence to substantiate the charges.
“No document showing interpolation or any application of white ink for erasing the marks are on record. There is no further evidence to link those slips with the charge of manipulation of results,” the HC observed.
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Chief Justice IP Mukherji, who headed the single-judge bench, said the prosecution could not establish even a prima facie case against the accused. The court also highlighted the inordinate delay in the proceedings, stating that the FIR was filed in July 2011 and little progress had been made since then.
“Such enormous delay in prosecuting a criminal case is against the fundamental rights of the accused under Articles 21, 19 and 14 to lead a peaceful life free of mental anxiety caused by pendency of a criminal proceeding,” the order stated.
Exercising powers under Sections 227 and 482 of the CrPC, the court set aside the Special Judge’s order of August 23, 2022, and quashed the charges in Special (CBI) Case No. 2 of 2020.
“The charges against the accused A1, A2 and A3 are quashed. The entire criminal proceedings are hereby quashed. Each of the accused are hereby discharged,” Chief Justice Mukherji pronounced.