Patna High Court refuses to restore membership of 4 rebel MLAs

In a jolt to four rebel JD(U) MLAs disqualified by the Speaker, Patna High Court on Tuesday refused to restore their membership of Bihar Assembly, setting aside a single bench order. A division bench comprising justices Iqbal Ahmad Ansari and Chakradhari Sharan Singh set aside the January 16 order of Justice Jyoti Sharan restoring the membership of the four MLAs, saying it found no infirmity in the Speaker's decision.

The four MLAs -- Gyanendra Singh Gyanoo (Barh), Ravindra Rai (Mahua), Rahul Sharma (Ghosi) and Neeraj Singh Babloo (Chhattapur) -- were disqualified for anti-party activities by the Speaker on the recommendation of JD(U) after allegedly cross-voting during Rajya Sabha elections in 2014. All the four have been siding with former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi in his fight for power with his mentor Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. Besides the four, Speaker Uday Narain Choudhary had also terminated the membership of four other members on similar charges and they too have challenged the order in the Patna High Court.

An appeal was filed in the division bench by assembly secretary and Parliamentary Affairs Minister and JD(U) chief whip Shrawan Kumar challenging the order of the single bench.

"We do not find any infirmity in the decision making process nor do we find the Speaker's decision pervert," the High Court on Tuesday held while refusing to restore the membership of the four MLAs. All the eight were denied permission to take part in the confidence vote of Manjhi which ultimately did not take place on February 20 last as he tendered his resignation prior to the floor test.