AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
The matter is of some importance and even if the immediate challenge to the very limited interim order passed by the Single Bench may not be worthy of consideration, the other request made by the State can be acceded to.
The matter pertains to a memorandum of understanding entered into by this State with the State of Assam pertaining to certain areas and the exchange or transfer of areas between the two States. The relevant MOU does not cover the entire range of disputes between the two States pertaining to border villages. However, it is only this MOU which has been made the subject-matter of the writ petition. In a sense, therefore, there is no impediment to both the States negotiating and arriving at a settlement in respect of other areas.
The State also asserts that in a matter of the present kind there is very little limited scope for judicial review and the petition should not have been entertained at all. The State, through learned Advocate-General, submits that since the issue is of some importance, the matter may be directly taken up by a Division Bench of this Court.
In view of the request and since the writ petition has already been moved before the Bench of Hon’ble Justice Thangkhiew, let the writ petition be placed before a Division Bench of the Chief Justice and Hon’ble Justice Thangkhiew, for the matter to be taken up a week after the date of reopening following the vacation.
The unserved respondents to the writ petition should be served immediately and this order communicated to them.
Affidavits-in-opposition to the writ petition should be filed by the reopening date and affidavits-in-reply, if any, by February 5, 2023. The writ petition will appear before the relevant Division Bench on February 6, 2023.
The present appeal, WA No. 44 of 2022, is disposed of without prejudice to the rights and contentions of the parties. There will be no order as to costs.