Supreme Court Seeks Response on Challenge to Bihar Minister Deepak Prakash’s Reappointment Without Legislative Membership

June 15, 2026 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a petition challenging the reappointment of Bihar Panchayati Raj Minister Deepak Prakash, who is not a member of either House of the Bihar Legislature. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana sought responses from the Bihar Government, Deepak Prakash, and the Election Commission of India on the plea filed by social activist Rakesh Kumar Singh.

The petition argues that Article 164(4) of the Constitution allows a non-legislator to serve as a minister for only six consecutive months, within which period the individual must become a member of the State Legislature. It contends that this constitutional exception is a one-time arrangement and cannot be extended through reappointment following a change in government.

According to the plea, Deepak Prakash was first inducted into the Council of Ministers on November 20, 2025, under the government led by Nitish Kumar despite not being an elected legislator. After that government fell on April 15, 2026, he was reappointed as a minister on May 7, 2026, in the new government headed by Samrat Choudhary.

The petitioner claims that the six-month constitutional period expired on May 20, 2026, and that the reappointment amounts to an indirect attempt to extend the grace period available to a non-legislator without obtaining an electoral mandate. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in S.R. Chaudhari v. State of Punjab, the plea argues that the six-month exception under Article 164(4) is non-renewable and cannot be reset through resignation, cabinet reshuffles, dissolution of a ministry, or reappointment.

Seeking a writ of quo warranto, the petitioner has requested the Court to declare Prakash’s reappointment unconstitutional and to require him to justify the legal authority under which he continues to hold ministerial office. The petition also alleges violations of Articles 14, 164(2), 164(4), and 141 of the Constitution, raising concerns about democratic accountability and constitutional governance.