New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its order on RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh’s petition challenging his expulsion from the Bihar Legislative Council for allegedly using defamatory language against Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh, which emphasized the need to balance legal provisions involved in the case.
Senior Advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing the Bihar Legislative Council, defended the expulsion, highlighting Singh’s previous suspension for misconduct. He argued that Singh was provided opportunities to access relevant video clips and materials, but he failed to attend the meetings where these were to be shown.
Kumar cited the precedent set by Raja Ram Pal v. Speaker, Lok Sabha (2007) to assert that the court should not assess the proportionality of legislative decisions.
Singh’s legal team, led by Senior Advocates Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, challenged the proportionality of the Committee’s report.
They argued that Singh merely mentioned that “people call Nitish Kumar ‘Palturam'” without inventing the term. The senior counsels contended that the permanent expulsion was extreme, contrasting it with incidents where legislators engaged in physical altercations and received only temporary suspensions.
Justice Surya Kant condemned the disruptive behaviour of legislators, emphasizing that lawmakers are the “spokespersons of 142 crore people” and should act responsibly.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, appearing for a candidate contesting the vacant seat, submitted that Section 151A of the Representation of People Act mandates immediate elections following an expulsion. Advocate Ankit Agarwal, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), maintained that the commission was duty-bound to notify elections once a vacancy occurred.
The bench criticized the ECI for adopting inconsistent stances in different cases, cautioning that such inconsistency could lead to uncertainty.
Gopal Sankaranarayanan further alleged that the Ethics Committee’s June 14 report was procedurally flawed, as it was signed by only four of the seven members and was completed within two days of a preliminary meeting on June 12.
The recommendation cited Singh’s disruptive conduct and defamatory remarks as grounds for expulsion, stating: “As the Chief Whip of the Opposition, his legislative responsibility should be towards policies, rules, and constitutional authority of the House.
However, his conduct disrupted the house and insulted the Leader of the House, harming the dignity of the Upper House.”
Sunil Kumar Singh filed the writ petition seeking to quash the report as unconstitutional and illegal, along with a direction to prevent elections for the seat declared vacant.
In August 2024, the Supreme Court issued notice but declined interim relief. On January 15, it directed that the result of the Bihar Legislative Council by-election be withheld until further orders.
