Shyamkumar disqualification case : High Court reserves order
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, July 02 2019: After hearing several petitions filed by different parties seeking disqualification of Minister Th Shyamkumar under the Anti-Defection Law, the High Court of Manipur reserved its order today.

Even though Th Shyamkumar was elected from Andro AC on a Congress ticket, he switched his allegiance to BJP even before he was sworn in as an MLA.

Not long after, he was given Ministerial portfolio in charge of MAHUD, Forest & Environment and Horticulture & Soil Conservation Departments.

Notably, N Biren was sworn in as Chief Minister of the coalition Government on March 15, 2017.All the parties which have been petitioning the High Court to disqualify Th Shyamkumar have been contending that Th Shyamkumar violated the Constitution's 10th Schedule, also known as Anti-Defection Law, by switching allegiance to BJP even before he was sworn in as an MLA.

A number of petitions were filed at the High Court by Congress MLAs Md Fajur Rahim, K Meghachandra, ex-MPCC president TN Haokip and others separately seeking disqualification of Shyamkumar.

As all these petitions have been seeking disqualification of Th Shyamkumar, the High Court clubbed together all of them.

After holding several rounds of hearing earlier, the petitions were heard again today by a single bench of Justice Kh Nobin Singh.

After hearing both the petitioners and the respondents, Justice Kh Nobin Singh reserved his order.

Similar petitions seeking disqualification of other Congress MLAs who are supporting the BJP-led coalition Government are pending at the Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker's Tribunal as well as the High Court of Manipur.

Although BJP won just 21 seats in the Manipur Legislative Assembly election held in 2017, they are being supported by eight Congress MLAs, four NPP MLAs, four NPF MLAs, one LJP MLA, one TMC MLA and one Independent MLA taking the total tally in their camp to 40 .

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