The Gauhati High Court has requested a response from the Arunachal Pradesh government regarding a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenges the state’s new recruitment policy. This policy mandates that candidates for government jobs must possess a Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC), hold Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) status, and demonstrate proficiency in an indigenous tribal language.
Advocate General Chowdhury informed the court that the state government would file its response through an affidavit. No official response from the state government on the issues raised in the PIL was available at the time of filing this report. He also sought clarity on the status of non-APST communities settled in Lekang.
They contended that the mandatory conditions dilute rights guaranteed under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution and questioned the government’s power to impose such eligibility requirements through an executive instruction. The court directed the government to file the affidavit positively by the next date, November 5. The legal challenge comes weeks after the state Cabinet, headed by chief minister Pema Khandu, on August 13 approved uniform eligibility criteria for direct recruitment to Group A, B and C posts and equivalent positions across government departments, PSUs, autonomous bodies and local and urban bodies.
The petitioners claimed the notification appeared “manifestly unreasonable and arbitrary” and was contrary to historical rights and privileges enjoyed by sections of people permanently settled in Arunachal Pradesh. Nalo said his team would approach the advocate general and other authorities and take steps to safeguard what he described as indigenous tribal rights.
