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RJD National Vice President, Shivanand Tiwary, has been sentenced to one year in prison by a Patna court in connection with a criminal defamation suit filed by Bihar Minister Sanjay Kumar Jha five years ago. Additionally, a fine of Rs 10,000 has been imposed on Tiwary, a former state minister.
The ruling was delivered by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Sarika Bahaliya on Tuesday. Despite the sentence, the court granted provisional bail to Shivanand Tiwary, allowing him 30 days to appeal against the verdict, as reported by Jha’s counsel, Madhukar Anand.
Sanjay Kumar Jha, currently holding significant portfolios such as Water Resources and Information and Public Relations in the Nitish Kumar government, initiated the defamation suit in 2018 when he served as the national general secretary of the JD(U).
The lawsuit stemmed from comments made by Tiwary regarding Jha’s close association with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the supreme leader of the JD(U). Tiwary, a veteran socialist leader with a five-decade-long association with both Nitish Kumar and RJD leader Lalu Prasad, faced legal action over statements concerning Jha’s ties with the Chief Minister.
Nitish Kumar, who had previously distanced himself from the RJD in 2017, has recently realigned with the party and hinted at passing on leadership to his deputy, Tejashwi Yadav, son of Lalu Prasad. Shivanand Tiwary, with a long history of association with both leaders, has been a member of parties formed by Prasad and Kumar at various points in time.
