Petition Seeking Nitish Kumar's Trial In Bihar Court Over Controversial Remark

A petition was filed before a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur on Wednesday, seeking the trial of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in connection with his recent remarks in the state legislature on the importance of women's education to control population growth.

The petition was filed before the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Pankaj Kumar Lal by Amitabh Kumar Singh, a local resident and advocate.

Talking to reporters, Mr Singh said, "My petition has been admitted and the court will hear the matter on November 25. The plea has been occasioned by the hurt I felt upon hearing indiscreet ('amaryadit') remarks of the chief minister who aspires to become the prime minister of the country".

"It is usually believed that words spoken inside Parliament or a state legislature enjoy legal immunity. However, my case stands because the Supreme Court has made it clear that the legal immunity is applicable to only utterances made in the context of political rivalry. That was not the case when the Chief Minister was speaking," he added.

Mr Kumar, the longest-serving chief minister of Bihar, on Wednesday apologised in both Houses of the legislature, as well as outside, for his remarks made the previous day.

The defacto JD(U) boss faced criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several other BJP leaders, and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi for the comments, which led Bihar's opposition parties to demand his resignation and forced repeated adjournments in the assembly.

The petitioner has sought a trial of Kumar under various sections of the IPC, including 504 (intentional insult) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult a woman's modesty).

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