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HC notice to CM Soren for stone mines lease in his name
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Shivshankar Sharma, the division bench of chief justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and justice Sujit Narayan Prasad directed all respondents to reply in two weeks, said Rajiv Kumar, lawyer of the petitioner.
The Jharkhand high court on Friday issued notice to state’s chief minister Hemant Soren and sought a reply from the government while hearing a petition seeking a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) inquiry and prosecution sanction against the CM for allegedly getting a stone chips mines lease issued in his name last year.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by one Shivshankar Sharma, the division bench of chief justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and justice Sujit Narayan Prasad directed all respondents to reply in two weeks, said Rajiv Kumar, lawyer of the petitioner.
“We have prayed before the court that the case merits a CBI inquiry as it violates Article 191 of the Constitution, section 9 of Representation of People’s Act and sections 7 and 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Besides the CM, chief secretary and departmental secretaries concerned have also been made respondents in the case. Secretary to the Governor has also been made a respondent as only the Governor can grant sanction to prosecute the CM,” said Kumar.
“Stating that it was a serious matter, the court has asked the CM and the government to comply to the notice in a week and file reply within two weeks,” he said.
The matter was first raised on February 10 this year by former chief minister Raghubar Das, who demanded the resignation of Hemant Soren, accusing him of misusing his office to get an in-principle approval for stone quarrying lease in his name on a government land on the outskirts of the state capital Ranchi, which was cleared by the mines and environment departments, headed by Soren himself.
Das had also alleged that Soren has violated the code of conduct meant for the office of CM and ministers, besides having committed a criminal offence under Prevention of Corruption Act.
Appearing on behalf of the government, advocate general Rajiv Ranjan informed the court that the granting of lease was a “mistake and he has already surrendered it”.
The petitioner told the court that Soren obtained a lease of 0.88 acre in Angara block of Ranchi and a letter of intent was issued by the Ranchi’s district mining office on June 16, 2021. Chief minister heads the mines department. Later, on September 9, Soren applied for environmental clearance of the said mine and by September 18, the clearance was given by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority, petitioner said.
“Besides the mines department, Soren also holds the charge of department of environment and forests. There has been a clear conflict of interest,” said Kumar.
