SHILLONG – Women lawyers have taken their fight against Meghalaya Advocate General Amit Kumar straight to Raj Bhavan, demanding his removal and an independent look into how lawyers are being appointed to represent the State.
The lawyers met the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Saturday and submitted a memorandum listing their complaints against Kumar.
One part of the memorandum concerns remarks Kumar made before the Meghalaya High Court on August 3. During a case involving an advocate and an intern, Kumar reportedly spoke about sexual harassment complaints and said Bar associations had failed to provide a safe environment for women lawyers.
Advocate Barisha Khongthaw, who spoke after the meeting, said the women lawyers had not come across complaints from junior women advocates that supported Kumar’s general statement. She said women and men in Meghalaya’s legal profession work together and that women lawyers are able to protect their own professional dignity.
The lawyers said they are not against genuine complaints of sexual harassment being investigated. Their objection is to making general statements about women lawyers without giving specific cases or details.
A committee has since been formed to find out whether any junior lawyer or intern had actually faced harassment, Khongthaw said. Lawyers or interns with genuine complaints can approach the committee, while their privacy will be protected.
The second and more serious issue raised by the lawyers concerns State legal appointments. The State appoints panel advocates and other lawyers to handle cases on its behalf. The women lawyers want an independent examination of how these lawyers are selected, what rules are followed and whether all eligible advocates get an equal chance to receive State work.
They have also questioned appointments involving Kumar’s own family.The memorandum points to the appointment of Kumar’s wife as a State panel advocate after he became Advocate General in 2018. It also refers to the later appointment of his son.
The women lawyers allege that these appointments could create a conflict of interest and want an independent inquiry into how the appointments were made. They have made it clear that they are not questioning the professional ability of the advocates who received State work. Their complaint is about the selection process and whether personal connections to the Advocate General’s office played a role.
Khongthaw also questioned why Meghalaya has an Advocate General from outside the State when the State has experienced lawyers who can hold the post.
The lawyers said they are not asking for special treatment because they are women. They want State legal work to be given through a system based on merit, transparency and equal opportunity. They have asked for Kumar’s removal and an independent review of the system used to appoint lawyers for State cases.
Governor Vijayashankar assured the delegation that he would examine the memorandum and the complaints raised by the women lawyers.
