The Patna High Court on Tuesday reversed Bihar Assembly Speaker’s order and reinstated the Assembly membership of four JD(U) legislators with immediate effect. On November 1, Speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary had terminated Assembly membership of Gyanendra Singh Gyanu, Ravindra Rai, Neeraj Kumar Singh Bablu and Rahul Sharma for going against party line during the recent Rajya Sabha bypolls, in which the JD(U) had won all three seats with support of the RJD. Eighteen JD(U) MLAs, including these four, had voted against two of the three party candidates. They had contended that cross-voting did not amount to violation of the provisions of Schedule 10 of the Constitution that deals with disqualification on ground of defection. The High Court reversed the Speaker’s order saying Schedule 10 of the Constitution was not applicable in the case of these MLAs as JD(U) had no right to issue whip during the Rajya Sabha elections. Ravindra Rai hailed the verdict saying it vindicated their stand and upheld their right of freedom of expression. “The JD (U) top leadership stood exposed now. We will now enter the Assembly,” said Rai. The High Court order has given boost to four other JD(U) leaders — Poonam Devi, Suresh Chanchal, Ajit Kumar and Raju Singh — who had lost their Assembly membership on similar grounds.
