The four rebel JD(U) MLAs whose membership had been terminated on Monday filed a petition in the Patna High Court challenging their disqualification from the assembly by the Speaker.
Lawyer SK Mangalam filed the petition on behalf of Gyanendra Singh Gyanoo, Neeraj Singh Babloo, Ravindra Rai and Rahul Sharma.
Mangalam told reporters that the termination has been challenged as ‘unlawful and unconstitutional’.
Speaker Uday Narayan Chaudhary had on Saturday last disqualified the four rebel JD(U) Legislators as members of the assembly on the charge of working against the party during the recent by-polls to two Rajya Sabha seats in the state.
The four have not been given status of ex-MLA in the Speaker’s ruling thus depriving them of all benefits in that capacity.
The MLAs were charged with working as proposers and polling agents of rebel candidates Anil Sharma, a real estate baron and expelled JD(U) leader Sabir Ali in the by-polls.
After RJD and Congress had extended support, the two official JD(U) candidates - diplomat-turned-politician Pawan Verma and Gulam Rasool Balyawi - had won from the two seats defeating the rebels.
In the petition, the MLAs have alleged that the speaker’s order violated 10th schedule of the Constitution, Gyanoo said.
As per the speaker Uday Narayan Choudhary’s ruling, the four MLAs not only lost their membership, they will not be ‘treated as ex-MLAs’ and nor will be ‘entitled to benefits of a former MLA. The four MLAs said as cross-voting did not amount to violation of the 10th Schedule provisions, they would move Patna High Court. Gyanendra Singh Gyanu had said:’We are not at all surprised at this decision and know who is behind this. This is Tughlaqi and Naxali order. We will move court and go to people’s court to teach him (Nitish) a lesson’.