The Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court has dismissed two interlocutory applications filed by the Naga People’s Front (NPF) that sought to keep seven of its suspended MLAs off the 60-member Nagaland Assembly.
The seventh session of the 13th State Assembly began on Friday.
The applications were dismissed pending a final verdict on a plea by the seven MLAs challenging the maintainability of a writ petition relating to their disqualification.
The suspended MLAs are E.E. Pangteang, Eshak Konyak, Kejong Chang, B.S. Nganlang Phom, Toyang Chang, N. Thongwang Konyak and C.L. John.
The court ruled that there was no merit in passing a judgement to restrain the seven MLAs from attending the Assembly session as the petition relating to their disqualification was in the pendency stage.
The NPF had suspended the seven legislators from the party’s membership in April 2019 for defying its decision to support Congress candidate K.L. Chishi in the Lok Sabha polls that year. They backed the candidate put up by the ruling combine of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party and the BJP.
Nagaland Assembly Speaker Sharingain Longkumer dismissed the NPF’s disqualification petition in July 2020, prompting the Opposition party to challenge his judgement in court. The petition to restrain the seven from entering the Assembly was filed on February 1.
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