SC revives disqualification; Speaker partially withdraws unattached verdict

IMPHAL, April 3: The disqualification order passed by the state Speaker in November last year against the agriculture minister, Thangminlien Kipgen has been revived by the Supreme Court, according to a reliable report from New Delhi. According to the report, the Supreme Court today vacated the two earlier orders of the Gauhati High Court, which had stayed the operation of the Speaker's order of November 17, 2000, disqualifying Thangminlien Kipgen under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. Mention may be made that the November 17 order of the Speaker, Sapam Dhananjoy, was stayed on November 24, 2000 by an interim order of Justice AK Patnaik, of the Gauhati High Court, principal seat. When the Speaker and the Assembly secretary moved an appeal against the stay order, a division bench comprising of Justice JN Sharma and Justice A Saikia confirmed the single judge bench's stay order instead of confirming it. The Speaker and co. subsequently approached the Supreme Court, challenging both the orders of the Gauhati High Court. Other MLAs against whom disqualification proceedings were pending, including Onjamang Haokip, Md Allauddin, L Jatra, S Chandra, K Tomba, N Zatawn and Hangkhanpao had obtained anticipatory protection against disqualification from the courts, while disqualification proceedings were dropped against Chungkhokai Doungel after the latter defected from the Ruling to the Opposition camp in the run up to the change in government. In yet another development, the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly, S Dhananjoy, today partially rescinded his verdict keeping eight legislators of the Manipur State Congress Party, MSCP, as unattached members of the House. In his latest order, the Speaker declared four of the eight MLAs he penalised, namely P Achou Singh, L Chandramani Singh, Samuel Jendai and S Rajen, as full-fledged members of the Assembly. It may be recalled that L Chandramani, P Achou, Samuel Jendai, K Biren, S Rajen, M Kunjo and H Lokhon were declared as unattached members of the Assembly by an order dated February 13, by the Speaker following the controversial expulsion of the named MLAs from their party by the party working president, Union minister of state for food processing, T Chaoba Singh. This despite the tussle within the MSCP was still unfolding and far from being settled. Subsequently a judgment of the Gauhati High Court Imphal Bench on March 27 had quashed the Speaker's verdict keeping eight unattached, following a joint petition by W Nipamacha, M Kunjo and K Biren.