Supreme Court Issues Notice On RJD Leader Ram Bali Singh's Plea Challenging Expulsion From Bihar Legislative Council

The Supreme Court yesterday issued notice on RJD leader Ram Bali Singh's plea challenging his expulsion from the Bihar Legislative Council over statements against state policies while his party formed the government.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan passed the order. The matter is next listed for consideration on October 25.

To recap, Singh was disqualified by an order passed by the Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council. The complaint against him was that he made public statements against the state government's policies (that were approved by the Legislature), while his party was part of the government.

Against the expulsion, Singh initially approached the Patna High Court, contending that the Chairman's order suffered from procedural irregularities. As per his claim, the order violated Rules 6(6) and 7 of the Bihar Legislative Council (Disqualification on the Ground of Defection) Rules, 1994 ("Bihar Rules").

Relying on Rule 6 of the Bihar Rules, Singh submitted that every complaint/petition against a member of the Bihar Legislative Council is to be signed by the complainant and verified in the manner laid down in the CPC (Code of Civil Procedure) for verification of pleadings (O6R15 CPC); Rule 7, on the other hand, allows the Chairman to dismiss a petition if it does not comply with the requirement of Rule 6.

It was Singh's case that the complaint did not satisfy the requirements under O6R15 CPC, since no affidavit accompanied it. He claimed that the issue was raised as a preliminary objection to the Chairman, but the Chairman dismissed it.

Noting that the requirement under Rule 6 was directory and not mandatory, the High Court upheld the Chairman's order disqualifying Singh. It referred to Dr. Mahachandra Prasad Singh v. Chairman, Bihar Legislative Council & Ors., where the Supreme Court held that the Bihar Rules being subordinate legislation cannot restrict the content and scope of the substantive provision, the Tenth Schedule, which deals with anti-defection law.

The Tenth Schedule does not state that the Chairman or Speaker of the House lacks jurisdiction to give an order regarding the disqualification of a member until a petition is submitted as per CPC.

The High Court also found that Singh's actions showed voluntary abandonment of his political party, leading to disqualification under the Bihar Rules. Aggrieved by this order, Singh approached the Supreme Court.

Case Title: RAM BALI SINGH v. THE BIHAR LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, PATNA, SLP(C) No. 016760/ 2024