‘How is unelected minister continuing for over six months?’ SC raps Bihar govt

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Bihar government over the continuation of Panchayati Raj minister Deepak Prakash, asking the state to explain how he remained in office beyond the six-month constitutional limit without being elected to the state legislature.The matter was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, which observed that the issue involved a pure question of law under Article 164(4) of the Constitution.Mentioning the plea, the petitioner’s counsel said, “My Lord, it is now over six months and he continues as a minister.”Counsel appearing for the Bihar government informed the court that the matter was already listed for hearing on August 27.“The matter is already listed on August 27. I leave it to Your Lordships,” the state’s counsel said.Responding to the submissions, CJI Surya Kant remarked, “This is a pure question of law. The State will have to explain how a minister is continuing for over six months without being elected. You have to explain it.”The petition challenges Deepak Prakash’s continuation as a minister under Article 164(4) of the Constitution, which permits a person who is not a member of the state legislature to be appointed as a minister for a maximum of six consecutive months. The provision requires the minister to get elected to either House of the state legislature within that period, failing which the individual must cease to hold office.Filed by social activist Rakesh Kumar Singh, the plea contends that Prakash was first inducted into the Bihar cabinet on November 20, 2025, despite not being a member of either the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council. After the Nitish Kumar government fell on April 15, 2026, Prakash was reappointed in the new government headed by chief minister Samrat Choudhary on May 7, 2026.

The petitioner argues that the six-month exemption under Article 164(4) is a one-time constitutional concession that cannot be reset through reappointment, a cabinet reshuffle or a change in government during the tenure of the same Legislative Assembly.The plea relies on the Supreme Court’s 2001 judgment in S.R. Chaudhari v. State of Punjab, which held that Article 164(4) cannot be used to repeatedly appoint a non-legislator as minister without securing election to the legislature, emphasising that the provision is an exception that must be interpreted narrowly to preserve democratic accountability.