Woman seeking FIR against Jharkhand CM in Bombay HC withdraws petition

The woman who alleged she was harassed by Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has informed the Bombay high court that she does not want to pursue the petition seeking the registration of an FIR against Soren anymore

The woman who alleged she was harassed by Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has informed the Bombay high court that she does not want to pursue the petition seeking the registration of an FIR against Soren anymore. She sought the permission of the court to withdraw the petition and all other pending litigations. The court, while allowing the request, has kept the petition for consideration on Wednesday. The woman had alleged that Soren was involved in an accident she met with in August 2020.

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren. (PTI)

The division bench of justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale was hearing two intervention applications filed by Jharkhand-based former journalist Sunil Kumar Tiwari and NGO Stree Roshni Trust, who sought an order from the court to not permit the woman to withdraw her petition. The bench was informed by public prosecutor Deepak Thakare that the applicants had no locus standi as the woman had sought to withdraw her petitions and the applications were filed with political interest.

Thakare further informed the bench that in 2013 the woman had filed a complaint before the magistrate???s court seeking to lodge a rape case against Soren but had withdrawn the complaint the same year. The plea before the bench now pertained to an accident she had met with in August 2020 in which she suspected Soren???s involvement; however, she now sought to withdraw that plea too.

Senior counsel Aabad Ponda, representing the woman, submitted that the woman should not be forced to continue with the petition and she had no connection to the intervenors, and they seemed to be backed by a political party.

In view of ???peculiar facts and circumstances of the case???, the court sought to interact with the petitioner in the chamber. In its order, the court noted that the woman appeared before the bench in the chamber and was identified by her advocate. The court also noted that ???she desires to withdraw the writ petition and she does not wish to pursue the allegations made in the plea and the statement was made voluntarily, without any pressure from either of parties.???