Meghalaya Cabinet approves 3 rules under new criminal laws

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 10, 2025

The state cabinet on Wednesday approved three rules which seeks to enhance the efficiency and transparency of the criminal justice system in Meghalaya. 

The approved rules namely Meghalaya e-Shaksha Management Rules, 2025, Meghalaya Electronic Processes Issuance Service and Execution Rules 2025 and Meghalaya Guidelines Community Services 2025 are expected to improve the management of electronic evidence, streamline court processes, and provide an alternative form of punishment for minor offenses.

Addressing media persons after a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma, Commissioner & Secretary in-charge Home Cyril Diengdoh said the rules were approved after due consultation with the Meghalaya High Court and are part of the ongoing process to implement the new criminal laws – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagariksuraksha Sanhita, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, which came into effect on July 1, 2024.

Diengdoh said that the Meghalaya e-Shaksha Management Rules, 2025 will ensures the secure upload of electronic evidence, such as videos and photographs, in a mobile application called e-Shaksha. The evidence will be linked to the CCTNS system and ICJS system, generating a unique ID and ensuring tamper-proof storage.

“All evidences that are collected in electronic format, be it videos, be it photographs are securely uploaded in a mobile application called e-Shaksha, which will be secured with a 16 digits code and hashtag and these are linked to the CCTNS system and ICJS system (Interoperable Criminal Justice System) which works in a way where court have access to the system, the directorate of prosecution have access and once this electronic evidence in the form of videos/photographs, which is collected by the police during investigation is uploaded a unique ID is generated so that this can be then brought as evidence in the court proceedings during trial,” he explained. 

 In regards to the Meghalaya Electronic Processes Issaunce Service and Execution Rules 2025, Diengdoh said this rule allows for the issuance of electronic summons, warrants, and other court processes, reducing the need for paper-based formats and increasing efficiency.

“It has been framed under section 64 of the Bharatiya Nagariksuraksha Sanhita. This is also a reform to ensure that summons that are given to various persons to appear in court through the court system and the police are now done in the electronic format – that is e-summons can be issued, warrants can be issued etc so that through the electronic format called the e-summons procedure and the case information system which is a software developed to ensure that all the courts are on this system and through CCTNS these summons can be issued through electronic format without the need to issue through the paper format which has been the current method.”

The Commissiner & Secretary also hihglighted the objective of Meghalaya Guidelines Community Services 2025 which seeks introduces community service as a form of punishment for petty offenses, such as cleaning and maintenance of public spaces, hospitals, and educational institutions.

“This is also a reformative measure as we know that when a person commits a crime and is convicted usual punishment is either imprisonment in a jail or a fine. This is bringing a new type of punishment which is called a community service which means that for petty offences or minor offences the courts can sentence a person who is convicted of petty offences to community services which include for example cleaning and maintenance of wards in government hospitals, trolley movement assistance in government hospitals, arranging or listing of books in government libraries, cleaning of classrooms or labs etc in government educational institutions or cleaning with municipal corporation or cleaning staff, including planting of trees, removal of weeds in plantation run by forest departments. These are community services that the persons convicted of minor offences has to undertake to serve as a sentence after conviction in a court of law,” he said.

“To summarize these three new criminal rules which have to be brought in line with the rest of the country as per the mandate from the MHA to take forward the implementation of the three new criminal laws in the state of Meghalaya which have been approved by the cabinet after due consultation and approval from the Meghalaya High Court,” Diengdoh added.