Due legal process followed in RJD MLC expulsion: Bihar legislative council to SC

New Delhi, Jan 29 (PTI) The Bihar Legislative Council on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that due legal procedure was followed in expelling RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh from the House and he was actually challenging the will of the council.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, which reserved its verdict on the plea of the former legislator, was informed by senior advocate Ranjit Kumar that he was involved in misconduct previously too and the decision of the ethics committee recommending his expulsion was properly debated in the House.

Senior advocates Abhishek Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the RJD leader, argued the doctrine of proportionality was not followed and Singh had only said that people say Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar was "palturam".

"I never said that it is my word but people say that Bihar chief minister is Palturam. Rules provide for graded punishment. I have questioned the report on the ground of doctrine of proportionality," submitted Sankaranarayanan.

The bench said, "You were a respected member of the House. You have to express some maturity in your statements. You should lead by example and not indulge in these kinds of statements." The top court asked the parties to submit their written submissions in next three days and reserved its verdict.

On January 16, the council justified its decision saying neither did the MLC attend the ethics committee meetings nor did he express any regret over the remark against the chief minister.

The RJD leader, it said, even questioned the competence of members of ethics committee and its constitution.

Kumar submitted Singh couldn't claim parity with another RJD MLC Mohd Qari Sohaib who was suspended for two days over a similar remark, saying Sohaib attended the meetings and answered the allegations.

The top court had restrained the Election Commission of India from declaring the Bihar Legislative Council bye-election result for the seat previously held by the expelled RJD leader.

Singhvi had said another RJD legislator making a similar remark was only suspended for a couple of days.

Singh was expelled from the Bihar Legislative Council in July last year for unruly behaviour in the House.

Singh, considered close to RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged for sloganeering against the CM on February 13, 2024, during a heated exchange in the House.

On January 6, the top court said that legislators should be respectful even while dissenting, as it fixed for final hearing a plea challenging the expulsion of Singh from Bihar's upper house for his remarks against the CM.

In 2024, the motion for Singh's expulsion was passed by voice vote, a day after the ethics committee submitted its report to acting chairman Awadhesh Narain Singh.

Singh was also charged for "insulting the chief minister by mimicking his body language" and questioning the competence of the members of the ethics committee after appearing before it.

The ethics committee report said while Sohaib expressed regret for his actions during the inquiry, Singh remained defiant. PTI MNL AMK