Patna High Court fixes November 19 as next hearing in Bihar’s ‘dustbin scam’

There are 3 types of waste bins for sorting waste : blue for general, green for wet and yellow for recyclable waste. File | Photo Credit: Getty Images In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the alleged ‘dustbin scam’ in Bihar, the Patna High Court on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) fixed November 19 as the next date of hearing in the case. The court also granted the Bihar government a deadline to file a counter-affidavit in the case by November 3. A Division Bench of Chief Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Harish Kumar is hearing the PIL, filed by Kaushalesh Kumar.The ‘dustbin scam’, which went viral on social media via a video report August 2026, pertains to the alleged purchase of plastic dustbins of different sizes by the Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Limited (BMSICL) during the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regime, when BJP leader Mangal Pandey was the State Health Minister, to collect biomedical waste in government hospitals, allegedly at an inflated estimated cost of ₹307 crore.Mr. Kumar’s petition alleges the bins were purchased for government hospitals at around 10 times the prevailing market price. The petition claims a 75 litre microwave-safe dustbin was purchased for ₹15,490 against its market price of ₹1,550. Similarly, a 45 litre microwave-safe dustbin was purchased for ₹11,474 against a market price of ₹1,162 only. The tender floated by BMSICL was awarded to a Lucknow-based company, SS Medical System, the petition said. Senior advocate Sanjeev Kumar Mishra represents the petitioner.The PIL has further alleged that biodegradable bags, too, were purchased at inflated prices — 75-litre biodegradable bags were purchased at ₹98 per unit against the market price of about ₹8.50 per unit; 45-litre bags were purchased at ₹69 per unit against the market price of about ₹5.75 per unit, it said. All the purchase orders were issued between June 2024 and April 18, 2026.Mr. Pandey, the BJP’s in-charge of Assam, is the MLA from Siwan, and has been State Health Minister several times. He has refused to comment on the alleged scam. Nishant Kumar, son of former Chief Minister and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) supremo Nitish Kumar, is the incumbent State Health Minister.The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) termed the BJP “trash bin eaters”, and Rohini Acharya, the Singapore-based second daughter of party chief Lalu Prasad, asked on social media: “Is it a box to keep garbage in or a new gimmick to empty the government’s treasury?”On Wednesday (October 7), RJD State general secretary and party spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said he could not comment on the matter as it was sub judice. However, he added, “It is a fact that corruption has gone up sharply under the NDA governments. They are not only stealing public money, but also stealing votes and voting rights.” Published - October 07, 2026 08:42 pm IST