No wrong in Bihar CM appointing Prashant Kishor as advisor: SC

The Bihar government's decision to appoint political strategist Prashant Kishor as an advisor to Nitish Kumar got a thumbs up from the Supreme Court which said today the chief minister is not an expert on all issues and can have person as an advisor on matters of public importance.

A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said there was nothing wrong on the part of the chief minister to appoint his advisors as he is not an expert and can appoint advisors for seeking suggestions on various issues of public importance.

"He (Nitish Kumar) is chief minister. He can seek advice on various subjects of public importance. He can appoint anyone as his advisor and can pay them accordingly. The chief minister is not an expert who knows everything. There is nothing wrong in the appointment," a bench also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul said.
 

Kishor, who is a political strategist and advisor to the Bihar chief minister on policies and programme implementation, is a public health expert by training and had formerly worked with the United Nations for eight years.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by one Rajesh Kumar Jaiswal seeking quashing of the appointment of Kishor as advisor to the Bihar chief minister and restraining the state government from making such appointment.

The plea which the court termed as dismissed as withdrawn after Jaiswal counsel agreed to withdrew it also sought laying of uniform guidelines for appointment of advisors to the state government, saying the salary payable to advisor cannot be paid beyond six months as per the Constitution.

The plea said that the state government has no power to revise or redetermine the salary by an executive order and it cannot utilise tax payers money for political gains for rewarding its men which should be done by its own political funds.

Jaiswal in his plea said that state government's action has to satisfy the test of reasonableness and public money sent for political or partisan purposes is impermissible in the Constitution.

"Highest officers have become personal prerogatives of political heads who engage outsiders having no accountability on contractual basis defeating the bureaucratic set-up," his plea said.