Shillong, August 13, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Meghalaya High Court has come down heavily on the state government over prolonged delays in clearing medical and travel reimbursement claims of Judicial Officers, with some bills pending for nearly a decade.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice W. Diengdoh directed the state to pay 9 per cent annual interest on delayed claims submitted between 2014 and 2022. The interest is to be calculated from the respective dates of submission of the bills until payment.
The directions were issued while hearing a petition filed by the Registrar General of the Meghalaya High Court. The court had earlier summoned the Secretaries of the Law and Finance departments over the pendency of reimbursement claims. Both officials appeared before the Bench on Monday.
The court noted that several claims involving relatively small amounts had remained unsettled for years. One bill of Rs 57,680 had been pending in the e-Proposal system since October 2014 without a sanction order. Another claim of Rs 15,860 had reportedly remained with the Law Department since 2017, while a bill for Rs 22,126 had been pending since June 2018.
“Some of the amounts are extremely negligible and small, yet they have not been disbursed till date,” the Bench observed, questioning the reasons for the prolonged delays.
Advocate General A. Kumar assured the court that proposals forwarded by the High Court would be processed on priority and that the pending bills of Judicial Officers would be cleared within two weeks.
The court directed that all pending claims from 2022 onwards also be processed and disbursed within two weeks. It further ordered the Commissioner and Secretary of the Law Department to conduct an inquiry into the delays and take appropriate action against officials found responsible.
In a separate matter concerning GPO land near the High Court, the Bench directed the Advocate General and Deputy Solicitor General of India to hold a joint meeting with officials from the GPO, PWD and Urban Affairs Department to work towards a resolution.
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