Patna, February 24 The Bihar Assembly passed four bills on Tuesday, including one that seeks to replace a law from the British era.
State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary moved the 'Bihar Civil Court Bill, 2026', which aims to replace the existing 'Bengal, Agra, and Assam Civil Court Act, 1887', enacted by the then British government, along with three other bills in the assembly. The House passed all four bills by voice vote.
The other bills that were passed included the 'Bihar Technical Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026', 'Bihar Staff Selection Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026', and 'Bihar Municipal Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026'.
While moving the 'Bihar Civil Court Bill, 2026', Choudhary said, "The bill, which had become effective as law during the British regime in Bihar, was known as the 'Bengal, Agra, Assam Civil Court Bill, 1887'. Now, under new circumstances, a decision has been taken to frame the law according to the requirements and needs of today's Bihar."
He added that Bihar is now a separate state, therefore, a separate civil court act was necessary.
According to the new bill, judges in lower courts would be appointed in consultation with the Patna High Court, the minister said.
He also presented the 'Bihar Technical Service Commission (Amendment) Bill 2026' and sought approval from the House to make it applicable for Group B and Group C grade personnel of district boards and municipal corporations.
Previously, the bill was only applicable to personnel of the Bihar government.
The parliamentary affairs minister also presented the 'Bihar Staff Selection Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2026' to seek approval from the House.
The 'Bihar Municipal Bodies (Amendment) Bill, 2026' was also presented by him to seek approval to give more power to ward councillors and district board members in the local bodies.
The bill also seeks to bring transparency in the formation of empowered standing committees of the municipal bodies in the state.
According to the aims and objectives of the municipal amendment bill, "Currently, the mayor or chairperson of the municipal body nominates the members of the empowered standing committee. This has attracted allegations of discrimination and centralization of power, which is against the spirit of decentralization as envisaged in the Constitution. It has also been noticed that members of some categories find it difficult to attend meetings of the municipal bodies."