HC dismisses

IMPHAL, Nov 6: Just a day after the High Court held a landmark verdict against Yengkhom Surchandra Singh declaring his 2017 election null and void, the same Court has again dismissed his petition to stay the order of the single bench yesterday.
Ex-MLA Yengkhom Surchandra had filed the petition today to stay the order of the single bench which declared his 2017 election to the State Legislative Assembly null and void, making way  for his closest rival BJP candidate M Rameshwar to become an elected Member and representative of Kakching Assembly Constituency. The same single bench of Justice MV Muralidharan heard the petition and dismissed it on the ground that there is ‘no reasonable ground or valid reason’ to stay the order of the same bench yesterday.
The Court had yesterday ruled in favour of M Rameshwar and declared Y Surchandra’s election null and void for he had failed to disclose full particulars of his assets and liabilities including those of his dependants and vital material information in his affidavit pertaining to non-agricultural land he owns.
Hours after the High Court verdict, Y Surchandra had said that he would challenge it in the Supreme Court.
Yengkhom Surchandra had won the March 2017 State Legislative Assembly election on a Congress ticket defeating BJP’s Mayanglambam Rameshwar 11133 to 10503 votes.
Notably, the seat for Kakching Assembly Constituency was lying vacant after the Speaker’s Tribunal disqualified Y Surchandra as MLA on anti-defection ground on June  18 a day before the Rajya Sabha poll which elected MP Leishemba Sanajaoba.