The Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday to temporarily halt the announcement of the by-election result for a Bihar legislative council seat, which was set to be declared unopposed on January 16. The seat was previously held by Sunil Kumar Singh, an expelled member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), who was removed from the council last year due to unruly behavior.
The bench, consisting of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh, responded to a plea by Singh, represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Singhvi informed the court that announcing the election result could create a conflicting situation should the court decide to overturn Singh’s expulsion. The legal proceedings surrounding Singh’s expulsion began in August 2024.
On February 13, 2024, during a legislative session, Singh engaged in a contentious exchange that included sloganeering against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. His actions led to a motion for expulsion, which the council passed by voice vote the day after the ethics committee submitted its report on the incident. The report also noted Singh’s disrespectful imitation of the Chief Minister’s body language and his critical remarks about the ethics committee’s members’ competence.
The court has scheduled to hear the responses from the state legislative council and its ethics committee on January 16, after which it will reserve its judgment on the case. This decision reflects the complexity of the legal and ethical issues involved in the expulsion and the subsequent by-election.
This legal entanglement has highlighted the tensions within Bihar’s political landscape, particularly involving figures close to the RJD leadership, including party supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav. The situation underscores the challenges in maintaining decorum and upholding parliamentary ethics in the face of political disputes.
