The bench took note of the submissions that some of the areas covered by the MoU are not benefiting from development schemes because...
Digital Desk: The Supreme Court today stopped the execution of the Meghalaya High Court ruling, staying the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by the chief ministers of the two states to settle their long-running boundary dispute.
A bench comprising of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and the counsel representing Assam and Meghalaya and ordered a stay on the Meghalaya High Court's ruling.
The bench took note of the submissions that some of the areas covered by the MoU are not benefiting from development schemes because of previous border issues, and that the boundary between the two states has not been altered as a result of the agreement.
It also issued notices to the four people who had originally moved the high court against the implementation of the MoU on various grounds, including that the settlement breached Article 3 of the Constitution.
Article 3 empowers Parliament to make a law related to the formation of new states and the alteration of the boundaries of existing states.
Earlier during the day, the Supreme Court opted to hear the petition challenging the Meghalaya High Court's order.
"We will hear it. Please provide three copies of the petition," the CJI said.
Following the inter-state border pact, a single-judge bench of the Meghalaya High Court issued an interim stay on physical demarcation or the erection of boundary posts-old on the ground on December 9.
Later, a division bench of the Supreme Court refused to intervene with the single-judge bench's order, prompting the petitioners to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma and his Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma, signed an MoU in March last year to demarcate the border in at least six of the 12 disputed places that have sparked tensions between the two states.
The agreement was signed by the chief ministers of Assam and Meghalaya on March 29, last year, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The pact aimed to settle the long-running dispute in six of the twelve locations along the 884.9-km border between the two states.
The boundary dispute between Assam and Meghalaya has lingered for 50 years. However, efforts to resolve it have accelerated in recent years.
Meghalaya was formed as a separate state from Assam in 1972, however, the new state challenged the Assam Reorganisation Act, 1971, resulting in border disputes in 12 locations.
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