Ravindra Singh, the RJD MLA from Arwal, wants the Supreme Court to allow him to pay a Rs 10 lakh fine, imposed by the apex court, in instalments.

The court had earlier this year fined Singh for filing a frivolous case related to a magazine report published in 1994. Ravindra wants the court to allow him to pay the fine in instalments, which he would pay from the salary he gets as a lawmaker.

"I do not have the money to pay the fine," the MLA told The Telegraph. "I have to obey the judgment of the apex court but I don't have money as I have not earned anything in my political career."

Ravindra, 64, who was a Maoist in the 1990s, said he does not own land or property. The land he had showed in his assets declaration for the 2015 Assembly poll was in the name of his father Hardayal Singh, who died in 2002. Ravindra has an elder sister and two younger sisters. He lives in an apartment at Jagdeo Path along with his 100-year-old mother Shyama Sundari Devi and his sons Shashikant Prabhakar, 34, and Kumar Gaurav, 32.

"I have two options," Ravindra said. "First, I will approach the court to review its order and second, if the order will not be reviewed, (I will plead) that the court can take the fine in instalments. In case I lose the election, the court can take that instalment from my pension."

An MLA gets around Rs 80,000 per month including perks, and 30,000 per month as pension.

Ravindra owns a revolver and a rifle, apart from an SUV worth Rs 10 lakh.

"I have bought the car on loan. If you check my passbook you will not find more than Rs 1,000 as I spend most of the money on well wishers. The land, valued at Rs 98 lakh, cannot be sold as both my sons have filed cases to claim ownership," he said.

Ravindra first became an MLA on a Janata Dal ticket in 1995, and this is his second term. He said the house he stays in Patna is rented; he gets the house rent from the Assembly secretariat.

Asked why the Supreme Court slapped the fine on him, he said: "In 2015 I filed a writ petition in Patna High Court seeking probe into a news published in Nyay Chakra, a magazine, in 1994. The report had a secret letter issued by RSS functionaries asking their workers to create trouble for Dalits and Muslims."

The HC dismissed his petition, after which he approached the apex court. On February 10, 2017, a bench of Chief Justice J.S. Khehar and Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud dismissed the petition and imposed the fine for wasting "precious judicial time" through frivolous litigation.

Ravindra had also visited Lalu Prasad at 10 Circular Road residence to seek advice from his party chief.

"I met Laluji and asked what I am supposed to do now as I do not have money to pay the fine imposed by the apex court. He told me to consult with a good advocate who can approach the court to review its order. But I know that chances are very less because the order was passed by a three-judge bench including the chief justice," Ravindra said.

He also said that before approaching the court, he had written to the President, the Prime Minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the state chief minister.