Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench quashed Nagaland government order on Dimapur Municipal Council committees, restoring chairperson’s reshuffle powers.
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DIMAPUR — The Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench, has set aside a Nagaland government order that had nullified the reshuffle of sub-committees in the Dimapur Municipal Council (DMC), holding that the chairperson has the authority to appoint and reshuffle committee members.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Kalyan Rai Surana quashed the order issued by the Additional Secretary, Municipal Affairs Department, dated January 23, 2026, which had declared the reshuffling of DMC sub-committees as “null and void.”
The court ruled that in the absence of any specific provision in the Nagaland Municipal Act, 2023 or the government guidelines, the chairperson, having the power to appoint convenors and members of sub-committees, also has the inherent power to reshuffle them.
“The petitioner… having appointed Convenors/In-Charge and Members of various Sub-Committees… had the power to reshuffle,” the court observed.
The writ petition was filed by Hukheto Yepthomi, chairperson of the DMC, challenging the government’s intervention in his December 22, 2025 order that reshuffled members of 11 sub-committees.
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The state government had argued that the reshuffle violated provisions of the Nagaland Municipal Act, including those relating to conduct of business and procedural requirements, and was carried out without proper consultation.
However, the court found these grounds untenable, stating that the respondents failed to demonstrate any legal provision that prohibits such reshuffling or mandates prior consultation with councillors or government authorities.
It further held that the reasons cited by the government—non-adherence to Chapter V of the Act and Section 77(2)(a)—were “vague” and not supported by the statutory framework.
The court also rejected the contention that the chairperson must act collectively with other municipal authorities in such matters, clarifying that the reshuffling of sub-committees falls within the administrative domain of the chairperson.
With the impugned government order quashed, the court restored the December 22, 2025 order issued by the DMC chairperson reshuffling the sub-committees.