Patna HC Upholds Ram Bali Singh's Disqualification From Bihar Legislative Council For Statements Against State's Policies While Being In Govt

The Patna High Court upheld the disqualification of the petitioner, Ram Bali Singh, as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council.

The petitioner was disqualified by an order passed by the Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council. The complaint against the petitioner was for making public statements against the State Government's policies that were approved by the Legislature, while the petitioner's party was part of the Government at that time.

The petitioner contended that the Chairman's order had procedural irregularities, violating Rules 6(6) and 7 of the Bihar Legislative Council (Disqualification on the Ground of Defection) Rules, 1994 ('Bihar Rules'). Rule 6 requires that every complaint/petition against a member of the Bihar Legislative Council be signed by the complainant and verified in the manner laid down in CPC for the verification of pleadings (OVI R15 CPC). Rule 7 allows the Chairman can dismiss a petition if it does not comply with the requirement of Rule 6.

The petitioner contended that the complaint did not satisfy the requirements under Order VI Rule 15 CPC, since no affidavit accompanied the complaint. He had raised it as a preliminary objection to the Chairman, but the Chairman had dismissed it.

The division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy noted that the requirement under Rule 6 is merely procedural. The Court stated that the procedures fixed under it are directory and not mandatory.

The Court referred to Dr. Mahachandra Prasad Singh v. Chairman, Bihar Legislative Council & Ors. (AIR 2005 SC 69), where the Supreme Court held that the Bihar Rules being the 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 the CPC rules.

The High Court thus observed, “We have to find that the procedural irregularity raised as a preliminary objection before the Chairman of the Legislative Council is not sustainable.”

The Court noted that the petitioner had not raised any contentions against the allegations in the complaint before the Chairman. Even though no contention was raised on this issue, the Court observed that the precedents of the Supreme Court indicate that a member of a legislative body must adhere to their party's discipline, constitution, and rules. The High Court found that the petitioner's actions showed voluntary abandonment of his political party, leading to disqualification under the Bihar Rules.

The Court thus upheld the Chairman's order to disqualify the petitioner.

Case title: Prof. (Dr.) Ram Bali Singh vs. The Bihar Legislative Council (CWJC No. 3501 of 2024)

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Pat) 55

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