SAROJ YADAV Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As the issues involved in both these petitions are identical and they relate to formation of the Government in the State of Bihar, we propose to deal with the matter and dispose them of by this common order.

(2.) In Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No. 10819 of 2017, the petitioner claims to be an Ex-Mukhia of a Panchayat in District-Patna, who was imprisoned during emergency for 18 months, and says that he is disturbed by the political happenings in the State of Bihar, as certain events and action taken are contrary to the constitutional mandate, this writ petition has been filed and the only ground raised is that without calling the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly for proving its majority and without granting them an opportunity, a particular party/group has been invited to form the Government.

(3.) Similarly, in Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.10820 of 2017, petitioners claim to be the members of the Legislative Assembly, belonging to a political party/group, i.e. the single largest party in the Assembly, and it is their case that contrary to the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of S. R. Bommai v. Union of India [(1994) 3 SCC 1]; and Rameshwar Prasad Versus v. The Union of India [(2006) 2 SCC 1], without calling the political party with the largest number of elected members in the Legislative Assembly, the party or group, which did not have the largest number or majority, has been called to form the Government. It is stated that without considering the request made by the leader of the petitioners' party, who had requested vide Annexure-1 on 27.07.2017 to His Excellency the Governor of Bihar to permit him to form the Government, the action taken for installing the Government without giving an opportunity to the single largest party in the Legislative Assembly is illegal and unconstitutional.