The Naga People’s Front (NPF) on Wednesday said the Kohima bench of the Gauhati High Court directed Nagaland Assembly Speaker Sharingain Longkumer to conclude the disqualification proceedings against seven of its MLAs and pass appropriate orders within six weeks.
During a hearing on June 2, the court asked the petitioners (MLAs Chotisuh Sazo and Imkong L Imchen) as well as the respondents (Speaker and the seven MLAs) to appear before it either in person or through their authorized representatives on June 8 to receive further instructions to enable the Speaker to conclude the proceeding within the specific period allotted by the court, the NPF press bureau said in a release.
The NPF hoped that the Speaker will use his good office in adjudicating the matter without further delay and with fairness.
The NPF filed a disqualification petition before the Nagaland Speaker against seven of its MLAs on April 24 last year for supporting Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) candidate Tokheho Yepthomi in the April 11, 2019 Lok Sabha polls though the party had decided to back the Congress’s K L Chishi.
The party said the court observed that the issues to be decided in the disqualification petitions have already been framed on March 21 this year but no further progress has been made in the proceeding.
The court, therefore, directed the Speaker to conclude the disqualification proceedings within the allotted time, it added.