The Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Sunil Kumar Singh as a member of the Bihar Legislative Council and stayed an Election Commission notification for bye-elections to his seat, reported Live Law.

Singh had been expelled for unruly behaviour and making allegedly defamatory remarks about Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the House in February 2024.

The court ruled that Singh’s expulsion violated his rights and the rights of his electorate, but condemned his behaviour as “abhorrent” and “unbecoming”. It deemed the expulsion “highly excessive” and “disproportionate”.

The court directed that the seven months of expulsion already served by Singh be considered a suspension, and said that this was sufficient punishment for his misconduct. The court clarified that its intervention was limited to the nature of the punishment and should not be seen as an approval of Singh’s behaviour.

The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh concluded in its judgement that there was no bar on courts questioning legislative decisions. Judicial reviews of legislative decisions under Article 212 of the Constitution do not encroach on the legislative domain, the judgement stated.

Article 212, part of the doctrine of separation of powers, states that the validity of proceedings in the legislature cannot be questioned by a court.

The bench held that courts can review the proportionality of punishments imposed by Legislative Councils as disproportionate punishments undermine democratic values.

The court said that while the matter could be sent back to the Council to determine a suitable punishment, it was invoking special powers under Article 142 to intervene in Singh’s punishment. Article 142 gives the Supreme Court the power to make orders that ensure “complete justice” in any case before it.

Singh had moved the Supreme Court arguing that one of his fellow MLCs had used similar language to describe Nitish Kumar but faced only a two-day suspension while he was expelled. Singh contended that his allegedly defamatory remark was not severe enough to warrant such a drastic punishment.

During a hearing on January 6, the Legislative Council argued that Singh’s remark had drawn a caricature of the chief minister.

“This is how humour works in politics,” Kant had remarked. However, he added that “even while dissenting, one must be respectful”.