The Supreme Court on Monday (June 15) issued notice on a writ petition challenging the reappointment of Deepak Prakash as Bihar's Panchayati Raj Minister despite him not being an elected member of the State legislature.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice V Mohan sought responses from the State of Bihar, Deepak Prakash and the Election Commission of India on a petition filed by social activist Rakesh Kumar Singh.

The petition contends that Prakash is not a member of either House of the Bihar legislature and, therefore, cannot continue to hold ministerial office beyond the constitutional period prescribed under Article 164(4) of the Constitution.

According to the plea, Article 164(4) permits a non-legislator to remain a minister for a maximum period of six consecutive months, during which he or she must secure membership of the State legislature. The petitioner argues that this constitutional exception is a one-time opportunity and cannot be revived merely because there is a change in government.

The petition states that Prakash was first inducted into the Council of Ministers on November 20, 2025, by the then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar despite not being an MLA or MLC. The Nitish Kumar government, however, fell on April 15, 2026, resulting in the dissolution of the Council of Ministers.

Subsequently, after a gap of 22 days, Prakash was reappointed as Panchayati Raj Minister on May 7, 2026, in the new government headed by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.

The petitioner points out that the six-month constitutional period, calculated from the initial appointment on November 20, 2025, expired on May 20, 2026.

It has been argued that the reappointment amounts to a colourable exercise of constitutional power aimed at indirectly extending the six-month grace period available to non-legislators.

Relying on the Supreme Court's decision in S.R. Chaudhuri v State of Punjab (2001), the petitioner has argued that the six-month exception under Article 164(4) is neither renewable nor revivable during the tenure of the same Legislative Assembly and cannot be reset through resignation, cabinet reshuffles, a change in Chief Minister, dissolution of a ministry, or reappointment.

The plea further states that permitting repeated appointments of unelected individuals as ministers would erode the principles of parliamentary democracy, representative government, collective responsibility and electoral accountability.

Seeking a writ of quo warranto, the petition has asked the Court to direct Prakash to disclose the constitutional authority under which he continues to hold office and to declare his reappointment unconstitutional and void.

The petition also alleges violations of Articles 14, 164(2), 164(4) and 141 of the Constitution, while invoking the doctrines of constitutional morality and the rule of law.

Advocates Sudeep Chandra and Sanya Kaushal appeared for the petitioner.

Case: Rakesh Kumar Singh v. State of Bihar & Ors., Writ Petition (Civil) No. 746 of 2026.