The Jharkhand government informed the Ranchi High Court that Babulal Marandi, the state president of BJP, cannot be made as the leader of the opposition in the assembly due to defection case pending against him.
Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the state government, stated that Marandi contested the 2019 assembly election as a candidate from Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) and later merged his party with the BJP after winning. Despite being elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party, he cannot qualify as the leader of the opposition because of the pending defection case before the Speaker’s court.
The BJP, as the largest party in the opposition bench, proposed Marandi’s name for the leader of the opposition position.
The court, led by Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra, was hearing a public interest litigation seeking the appointment of Information Commissioners in the state, which requires a leader of the opposition in the assembly. Information Commissioners can only be appointed by a committee that includes the leader of the opposition under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Additionally, the appointment committee, with the leader of the opposition as a member, is responsible for recommending candidates for various vacant positions in entities like the State Human Rights Commission and Lokayukt.
Marandi merged his Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) with the BJP on February 17, 2020, in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Ranchi. He was subsequently elected as the leader of the BJP Legislative Party on February 24 the same year.
The Speaker, Rabindranath Mahto, initiated proceedings against Marandi under the anti-defection law, and the hearing concluded in August 2022, with the judgment reserved.
Earlier this year, the high court dismissed a petition challenging the anti-defection proceedings initiated by the Speaker against Marandi. The court will reconvene to address the matter on August 30.
