Meghalaya High Court Orders Completion of Weighbridge Inspections by April End

SHILLONG: The Meghalaya High Court has directed state authorities to complete the inspection of all weighbridges by April 30, 2025. The directive was issued by a bench comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh while hearing a PIL filed by Tennydard M Marak, who alleged that overloaded vehicles are being allowed to pass unchecked, resulting in significant revenue loss for the government.

The petitioner claimed that government officials were permitting overloaded vehicles to pass through malfunctioning weighbridges, leading to a loss of revenue that could be collected through overloading fees, cess, fines, and royalties on export materials.

The court emphasized the urgency of the matter, stating, “Inspection of all the weighbridges shall be concluded by 30th April, 2025. A report is also to be filed in terms of our said order dated 5th December, 2024, by 2nd May, 2025.”

As part of the directive, the state government has been asked to prepare and submit a list of all weighbridges to the petitioner by February 19, 2025. If any weighbridge is found missing from the list, the petitioner may inform the government, following which the final list will be prepared.

The court has further mandated that a two-hour spot inspection be carried out at each weighbridge during peak vehicular traffic hours, maintaining the secrecy outlined in its earlier order dated December 5, 2024.

Earlier, the court had ordered the government to inspect weighbridges and check the claims made in the PIL. However, the bench found that a proper inspection had not been done. The petitioner's lawyer said that her client was not given prior notice of the inspection, as the court had instructed, and that the government carried out inspections without informing him.

In response, the Advocate General informed the court that the government was willing to conduct a fresh inspection in compliance with the court’s order.

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