Guwahati: The Manipur High Court ruled that MP Lorho S. Pfoze of the Naga People’s Front was “null and void” for his election to the Lok Sabha ,on Friday.
After he had been in office for three years, the declaration was made by a single bench that included Justice MV Muralidaran.
The petitioner in the case, Houlim Shokhopao Mate of the BJP, was also acknowledged by the court as having been “duly elected” to represent the Outer Manipur constituency.
The judge said, “The claim of the petitioner to declare him an elected member cannot be denied for the reason that among all the candidates contested, the petitioner secured the highest votes after the first respondent.”
Notably, Mate asserted in a 2019 election appeal that an affidavit submitted by Pfoze had “several faults, mistakes, and was inadequate” during the 2019 election process.
Mate further asserted that Pfoze’s affidavit, which was submitted with his candidacy papers, did not follow the required format.