Sunil Kumar Singh, considered close to Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged with sloganeering against the Chief Minister on February 13, 2024, during a heated exchange in the House
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the expulsion of RJD leader Sunil Kumar Singh from the Bihar Legislative Council for his unruly behaviour in the House, saying it was highly excessive and disproportionate. The apex court also set aside the Election Commission’s notification in December last announcing bypoll for the seat held by Singh.
While terming Singh’s conduct as abhorrent and unbecoming of a member of the House, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh said the legislative council should be more magnanimous. “The House must exercise magnanimity and refrain from imposing disproportionate action against its member… We hold that a more balanced measure should have been approached by the House. The action by the House was indeed harsh and disproportionate,” the bench said. The apex court said the expulsion violated not only Singh’s rights but also the rights of the electorate represented by him.
Invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution (passing any decree or pass an order to do complete justice), the bench held that seven months of expulsion already undergone by the petitioner should be deemed as suspension and appropriate punishment for his “unbecoming” conduct and said he would not seek any remuneration for the suspension period.
The top court clarified that it has interfered with the Council’s decisions only to the extent of the nature of the punishment and the judgment should not be construed as a condonation of his conduct.
Dubbing Sunil Kumar Singh’s conduct in calling Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ‘Palturam’ as “abhorrent”, the top court cautioned him against making such comments in future.
On July 26, last year, Singh was expelled from the Bihar Legislative Council for his unruly behaviour in the House.
Singh, considered close to Rashtriya Janata Dal supremo Lalu Prasad and his family, was charged with sloganeering against the Chief Minister on February 13, 2024, during a heated exchange in the House.
