Shyamkumar disqualification case High Court to announce verdict today

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Jul 22: The High Court of Manipur would announce its judgement tomorrow on the several petitions filed by different parties seeking disqualification of Forest & Environment and MAHUD Minister Th Shyamkumar under the Anti-Defection Law.
The judgment order was kept reserved from July 2 by a Single Bench of the High Court of Manipur headed by Justice Kh Nobin after holding several rounds of hearing on several occasions from 2018 onwards  after clubbing together all the petitions which included those filed by Congress MLAs Md Fajur Rahim, K Meghachandra, ex-MPCC president TN Haokip and others separately seeking disqualification of Minister Shyamkumar.
It may be mentioned that even though Minister Th Shyamkumar was elected from Andro AC on Congress ticket but he switched his allegiance to BJP even before he was sworn in as an MLA.
Not long after, he was given the Ministerial portfolios in charge of MAHUD, Forest and Environment and Horticulture & Soil Conservation Department. Notably N Biren was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the BJP-led coalition Government on March 15, 2017
All the parties which have been petitioning the High Court to disqualify Shyamkumar, have been contending that he 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. 
Similar petitions seeking disqualification of other Congress MLAs who are supporting the BJP led coalition Government are pending at Manipur Legislative Assembly Speaker’s Tribunal as well as before the High Court.
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, one LJP MLA, one TMC MLA and one independent MLA taking the total tally in their camp to 40. Out of the 8 Congress MLAs supporting the Government, only Shyamkumar is given ministerial berth