The Bihar government on Friday informed the Supreme Court that Panchayati Raj Minister Deepak Prakash has been nominated as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), enabling him to continue as a member of the State Cabinet.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana was hearing a petition seeking Prakash’s removal from the post of Panchayati Raj Minister on the ground that he had not been elected to either House of the Bihar Legislature within the constitutionally prescribed period.
The Supreme Court directed the State to place on record the notification concerning Prakash’s nomination as an MLC and adjourned the matter for further hearing.
Prakash was first sworn in as Bihar’s Panchayati Raj Minister on November 20, 2025, in the Council of Ministers headed by then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. At the time, he was not a member of either the Bihar Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council.
Following the resignation and dissolution of the Nitish Kumar-led Cabinet, BJP leader Samrat Choudhary assumed office as Bihar Chief Minister on April 15. Prakash consequently ceased to be a Minister and remained out of the Council of Ministers.
After a gap of around 22 days, Prakash was re-inducted into the Cabinet and sworn in again as Panchayati Raj Minister on May 7, despite still not being an elected legislator.
The petitioner, social activist Rakesh Kumar Singh, contended that Prakash had already utilised approximately four months and 26 days of the six-month period permitted under Article 164(4) of the Constitution for a person who is not a member of the State Legislature to continue as a Minister.
According to the plea, the six-month period expired on May 19. The petitioner argued that Prakash’s resignation and subsequent reappointment could not be used to reset or extend the constitutional time limit.
Singh had approached the Supreme Court in June, challenging Prakash’s continuation as a Minister on the ground that he had failed to secure election to either House of the State Legislature within six months of his initial appointment.
The petitioner alleged that by creating a short break between the two appointments and seeking to carry forward the unexpired portion of the initial six-month period, the State had resorted to a “colourable exercise” of constitutional power to achieve indirectly what could not be done directly.
Appearing for the Bihar government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Bench on Friday that Prakash had since been nominated as an MLC during the pendency of the proceedings.
Appearing for the State, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the Court that the minister’s original term had ended, but he remained in office under a fresh appointment
Counsel for the petitioner, however, continued to press for Prakash’s removal and relied on the Supreme Court’s 2001 judgment in SR Chaudhuri v. State of Punjab.
In that judgment, the Supreme Court had held that a person cannot repeatedly be appointed as a Minister for successive periods of six months without securing election to the State Legislature in the intervening period.
The Court had then held that the constitutional mandate under Article 164(4) could not be defeated by creating a short gap in the person’s ministerial tenure and subsequently reappointing him without the person obtaining the confidence of the electorate through election.
The present proceedings therefore raise questions concerning the interpretation of Article 164(4), particularly whether a minister who remains unelected can circumvent the six-month constitutional limitation through resignation and subsequent reappointment.
With the State now claiming that Prakash has been nominated to the Legislative Council, the Supreme Court is expected to consider the relevance of the subsequent nomination to the challenge against his earlier and present ministerial appointments.
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