Imphal, Sept. 24 -- The Gauhati High Court has sought the Arunachal Pradesh government's response to a PIL challenging its new recruitment policy that makes a Permanent Residence Certificate (PRC), Arunachal Pradesh Scheduled Tribe (APST) status and proficiency in an indigenous tribal language mandatory for government jobs.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury heard the PIL filed by the Lekang Indigenous Right Forum and four others on Wednesday and directed the state to file its response by the next hearing on November 5.

The petitioners have challenged the August 26 notification issued by the state government as well as three subsequent recruitment advertisements issued by the Arunacha...