Shillong, August 24: A central delegation of the Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU), led by Education Secretary Bocheru Mi Pohsnem and General Secretary Neilkee Mukhim, officially filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) today before the High Court of Meghalaya.
The PIL challenges the heavily militarized, fraudulent Environmental Public Hearing held on July 31, 2026, for the proposed Shree Cement Limited mining project at Lum Syrman, Elaka Nongkhlieh.
The union took this step after exhausting every available administrative and statutory avenue, all of which failed due to state apathy, State Government Inaction, Despite formal representations and multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) submitted to the district administration and police, the State Government has failed to take any corrective measures or halt the clearance process.
While formal complaints and proceedings before the Meghalaya Human Rights Commission (MHRC) and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) remain underway and decisive action is awaited, the authorities on the ground continue to turn a blind eye.
Core Grounds of the PIL is that sham hearing and mob violence, in the petition highlights grave violations of constitutional rights and state-corporate collusion.
The mandatory public hearing was reduced to an exclusionary, 46-minute sham where legitimate indigenous stakeholders and local landowners were deliberately blockaded and prevented from participating.
Brutal Attack on Emergency Ambulance and Protesters: In a planned bid to suppress democratic dissent, armed goons and corporate mercenaries assaulted peaceful protesters and ambushed a JSU emergency medical ambulance on a humanitarian mission. The driver, Shri Rapbor Mukhim, sustained grievous head injuries from stones and catapults.
Instead of acting against the armed goons who destroyed public infrastructure, the police administration used tear gas against peaceful indigenous youth and diluted the FIR into weak, bailable sections to shield the attackers.
The JSU Central Body underscored that approaching the High Court is the final institutional recourse to safeguard the fundamental rights and dignity of the indigenous people, they JSU hope the High Court won’t see them as mere cockroaches and will deliver justice as the situation is.
The union declared that if the High Court fails to take cognizance of this state-sponsored injustice, the JSU, along with civil society, will have no choice but to take to the streets and initiate intense public agitation measures across the region until justice is fully delivered said in the press statement issued to media houses today.
