DIMAPUR, MARCH 27 (MExN): The Gauhati High Court’s Kohima Bench has reinstated a temporary injunction in the leadership dispute over the election of the Sumi Hoho president, reversing a lower court’s decision that had vacated the injunction.
The case, registered involves seven petitioners against the office of the Sumi Hoho and its president over alleged ineligibility in the presidential election.
The dispute stems from Article 7.10 of the Sumi Hoho Constitution, which mandates that a candidate for the position of president must be at least 50 years old. The petitioners claim that the current Sumi Hoho President did not meet this age requirement at the time of the election, making his appointment invalid.
A trial court had initially granted a temporary injunction after finding that the petitioners had established a prima facie case. However, the Principal District Judge, Dimapur, later vacated the injunction, ruling that the petitioners had failed to prove a strong case for interference. In response, the petitioners challenged this order before the Gauhati High Court’s Kohima Bench.
During the hearing on March 18, before Justice Mridul Kumar Kalita, the petitioners’ counsel argued that the trial court’s injunction was justified based on legal precedent. The respondents’ counsel contended that the injunction was unnecessary.
In its judgment issued on March 27, the High Court ruled in favor of the petitioners, finding that the trial court had properly exercised its discretion in granting the injunction and that the Principal District Judge had erred in vacating it. The court emphasized the importance of maintaining the status quo when a prima facie case is established, citing Supreme Court rulings on temporary injunctions.
The reinstated injunction prevents Vihuto Assumi from acting as the Sumi Hoho president while the case is pending. The court clarified that the respondents still have the opportunity to challenge the case’s maintainability in the trial court under Order 14 Rule 2 of the Civil Procedure Code.
