IMPHAL: The United Naga Council (UNC) has petitioned Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla to dismiss Nemcha Kipgen from the office of the deputy chief minister. The petition was sent through the deputy commissioner of Senapati dated July 21, 2026. The UNC petition was sent under the subject “Constitutional petition invoking the doctrine of constitutional morality for the immediate dismissal of Nemcha Kipgen from the Council of Ministers due to an irreconcilable structural conflict of interest”.
The UNC said it “submits this formal constitutional petition to your (Governor) esteemed office in your capacity as the constitutional head of the State of Manipur”, adding, “We are compelled to bring to your immediate attention severe and continuing subversion of the Constitution of India, specifically regarding a paramount conflict of interest within the highest echelons of the State Cabinet that is currently paralyzing the administration of criminal justice”.
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The UNC said in continuation of its “unanswered memorandum” dated June 12, 2026, addressed to the Chief Minister, “which failed to elicit executive rectification, we now escalate this crisis to you (Governor)”. This petition formally requests the invocation of the Governor’s constitutional prerogatives under Article 164(1) of the Constitution of India to remove Nemcha Kipgen from the office of Deputy Chief Minister on the strict legal grounds of institutional compromise and the breach of constitutional morality.
Stating the “factual and statutory matrix (The UA(P)A Trigger)”, the UNC said the law enforcement apparatus of Manipur is currently investigating a series of “premeditated abductions and subsequent extrajudicial killings of six unarmed Naga civilians that occurred on May 13, 2026, at Leilon Vaiphei village”.
Regarding the Terrorist Acts, the UNC petition mentioned that these offenses are formally registered under Zero FIR No. 00(7)(5)2026 SEK-PS, subsequently transferred as FIR No. 23(5)2026-GSPM-PS. The investigating agencies have explicitly invoked Section 16(1)(b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UA(P)A], officially classifying these acts as terrorism, it added. The UNC also said the primary accused organization executing these UA(P)A offenses is the Kuki National Front-President Group (KNF-P), operating under the umbrella of the United Peoples’ Front (UPF).
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On the “structural conflict of interest”, the UNC said the integrity of the state’s executive and investigative machinery is fundamentally nullified by an undeniable familial and operational nexus at the Cabinet level.
Citing the command structure, the UNC said the chairman of the UPF and president of the KNF-P, “the exact organization legally implicated in the aforementioned UA(P)A FIR”, is ST Thangboi Kipgen.
On the alleged cabinet nexus, the UNC said ST Thangboi Kipgen is the spouse of Nemcha Kipgen, the sitting deputy chief minister of Manipur.
Citing the jurisdictional overlap, the UNC said the jurisdictional domain where these acts of terror and abductions were orchestrated falls directly within her political constituency and administrative sphere of influence.
On the subversion of Constitutional oath and morality, the UNC said that under the Third Schedule of the Constitution of India, a minister swears an oath to “do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
The UNC then said it is a foundational tenet of jurisprudence that the state police and allied intelligence agencies cannot conduct an impartial, unhindered investigation into a designated narco-terrorist organization when the spouse of the organization’s supreme commander holds the office of the deputy chief minister.
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Mentioning what it called the ‘breach of trust, the UNC said Nemcha’s continuation in a cabinet role constitutes a direct structural conflict of interest. “It provides institutional shield to the KNF-P, thereby subverting the rule of law, undermining the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) operational independence within the state, and entirely eroding public trust in the democratic apparatus”, the UNC added.
The UNC then prayed for constitutional action. It said the doctrine of constitutional morality dictates that individuals holding high public office must be entirely free from conflicts that jeopardize the security of the state and the fundamental rights of its citizens. The presence of Nemcha Kipgen in the Council of Ministers is legally and morally irreconcilable with an active UA(P)A investigation into her spouse’s organization, the Naga body pointed out., adding, “Because the executive head of the state has failed to rectify this constitutional breakdown following our June 12, 2026, submission, the United Naga Council formally petitions your office to exercise your constitutional discretion under Article 164(1) of the Constitution (wherein Ministers hold office during the pleasure of the Governor) to secure the immediate dismissal of Mrs. Nemcha Kipgen from the Council of Ministers”.
The UNC also said it petitioned the Governor to restore the constitutional machinery of the state, enabling free, fair, and politically uncompromised investigation into the UA(P)A-designated murders of the six Naga civilians. Further, UNC reiterated for expediting the addressal of the UNC Charter of Demands dated June 12, 2026. “We rely upon your office to uphold the sanctity of the Constitution and secure justice for the aggrieved”, the UNC petitioned the Governor, added.
