A local court in Patna on Saturday, 15 December, convicted suspended RJD MLA Raj Ballabh Yadav and five others for raping a minor girl two years ago.
The court has fixed 21 December as the next date of hearing the arguments on the issue of quantum of punishment (sentence), Special Public Prosecutor Shyameshwar Dayal told reporters outside the court room.
The prosecution would press for maximum sentence in the case as the MLA hatched a criminal conspiracy to rape the minor girl, he added.
Dayal said he would lose membership under section 8 (3) of the Representation of People Act, 1951.
As per section 8(3) of RP Act, 1951, a person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA from Nawada was accused of raping a minor girl at his residence in Bihar Sharif on 6 February 2016.
The RJD had suspended him from the party on 14 February 2016.
After evading arrest for considerable time, the MLA surrendered after a local court issued proclamation notice and an order to attach his properties for not surrendering before the police.
On 24 November 2016, the Supreme Court had cancelled Yadav's bail granted by the Patna High Court. The top court had said that there is a "possibility of interdicting" fair trial by him if released.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)