The Kohima Bench of the Guwahati High Court on Friday stayed the directive of Nagaland Governor PB Acharya, who had asked the Chief Minister to prove his majority in a floor test till next Monday.
The Governor had earlier asked Chief Minister Dr Shurhozelie liezietsu to prove his majority in the floor of the House before July 15 in the wake of a claim by former Chief Minister TR Zeliang, who had claimed to have the support of majority of the legislators in the Naga Peoples’ Front led Government in the State.
The Council of Ministers led by the Chief Minister called on the Governor today where the Governor told the Chief Minister to bring about a reconciliation amongst the legislators.
Kuzholuzo Nienu, newly elected Chairman of the Democratic Alliance of Nagaland Coordination Comm-ittee, emphatically told the Governor that the DAN coalition is intact and that the present crisis is only within the NPF party.
In the writ petition filed by the petitioner Dr Shurhozelie liezietsu before the Kohima Bench of the Guwahati High Court on Friday, it was argued that the decision of the Governor asking the petitioner who is also the Chief Minister of Nagaland to conduct a floor test on or before July 15 was “ex facie unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and violative of the basic features of the Constitution.”
“The Governor, without affording an opportunity to the Petitioner for a free and fair election for his candidature, has hastily proceeded to reject the request made by the Petitioner herein to pre-empt the already scheduled elections,” the petition filed by the Chief Minister said.
“It is submitted that the decision of the Governor to the Petitioner directing to convene an emergent session, communicated on 13.07.2017, is ex facie unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and against the well-established constitutional convention of a Hon’ble Chief Minister’s duties and responsibilities to discharge his official functions under the Constitution of India. It is submitted that the decision of the Hon’ble Governor dated 13.07.2017 has been taken without even giving an opportunity to the Petitioner and his Council of Ministers,” the court order said.
“The decision of the Governor is completely tainted with arbitrariness, malafide, partisanship and has been taken in an extremely hasty manner on 13.07.2017 to pre-empt any staking of claim by the Petitioner. As such it is violative of Article 14 of the Constitution,” the court order said.
“The Governor has taken the impugned decision without any application of mind. It is submitted that the impugned order, which seeks to direct the Petitioner to convene an emergent meeting is perverse,” the order said.