[Bengia Ajum]

ITANAGAR, 23 Sep: The Gauhati High Court has issued notices to the State of Arunachal Pradesh and the Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) while passing an interim direction permitting petitioners to participate in the ongoing recruitment process, subject to the final outcome of the case. This legal development follows a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) and a writ petition filed before the High Court by the Lekang Indigenous Right Forum (LIRF), challenging a recent state cabinet decision and subsequent notification that makes a valid PRC, APST certificate, and knowledge of an indigenous tribal language mandatory for direct recruitment to Arunachal government jobs.

The LIRF comprises youths and students from the Moran, Deori, Adivasi, Kachari, and Tai Ahom communities who reside within the territorial jurisdiction of the Lekang Administrative Circle in Namsai district.

A division bench of the Gauhati High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury, issued the notices during the case hearing.

While hearing Writ Petition (Civil) No. 5166/2026, the bench passed the interim direction permitting the petitioners to participate in the ongoing recruitment process. The court, however, stated that their participation shall remain strictly subject to the final outcome of the writ petition.

The division bench also issued a notice to the state respondents in a connected Public Interest Litigation (PIL No. 62/2026), seeking their response on the constitutional validity of the state's uniform recruitment criteria.

The legal challenge centres around the State Executive's notification dated 26 August 2026, issued under Article 309 of the Constitution, and subsequent recruitment advertisements (Nos. 04/2026, 05/2026, and 06/2026) issued by the APPSC for various Group 'A' and Group 'B' posts.

The petitioners-non-APST permanent inhabitants from the Deori, Moran, Kachari, Adivasi, and Ahom communities-contend that imposing a 100 percent mandatory PRC and APST requirement effectively abolishes the unreserved category in public employment, violating Articles 14, 15, and 16 of the Constitution.

Both matters have been listed for further hearing on 5 November.