BIG relief for Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, SC admits plea challenging HC order in THIS case

Hemant Soren illegal mining case: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed his plea challenging a Jharkhand High Court order against him in the illegal mining case. The SC order came days after the Jharkhand High Court held the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a probe against Soren in the alleged mining scam case maintainable.

New Delhi: In a big relief for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed his plea challenging a Jharkhand High Court order against him in the illegal mining case. The SC order came days after the Jharkhand High Court held a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a probe against Soren in the alleged mining scam case as ''maintainable.''

Supreme Court allows the appeal of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren & the state govt against the Jharkhand High Court order which had accepted the maintainability of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in connection with shell companies allegedly related to Soren and his associates. pic.twitter.com/cFbDaOA4RA — ANI (@ANI) November 7, 2022

It may be noted that the Jharkhand CM faces disqualification as an MLA on the basis of a complaint filed by the BJP, which has accused him of misusing his official position by granting himself a mining lease while holding office in 2021. The Election Commission has reportedly recommended to Governor Ramesh Bais that action be taken against him. But the Governor has not yet taken any action in this regard and sought a second opinion in this matter.

The Enforcement Directorate had earlier arrested several people, including Soren’s close aide Pankaj Mishra in the case, after raids in July and seized Rs 11.88 crore from Mishra's bank accounts. The agency claimed to have found Rs 5.34 crore in "unaccounted" cash from Mishra's home.

The central financial crime probe agency also questioned Soren's press adviser, Abhishek Prasad, too. The ED reportedly also recovered a passbook of Hemant Soren and some cheques signed by him from Mishra’s home.

In its chargesheet, the ED claimed that Pankaj Mishra, the political representative of Hemant Soren, "controls" illegal mining business in the Chief Minister's assembly constituency Barhait through his accomplices.

The ED initiated the money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Barharwa Police Station, Sahebganj District, Jharkhand under various sections of IPC, against Mishra and others.

Later on, several FIRs regarding illegal mining lodged under IPC, Explosive Substances Act and Arms Act have also been invoked. Till date, the ED has identified proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining to the tune of more than Rs 1,000 crore in this case.

Soren, meanwhile, has sought a copy from the Election Commission (EC) of Governor Ramesh Bais's request for a "second opinion" in the office-of-profit case. This comes in the wake of the Governor telling the reporters on October 27 that he has sought a "second opinion" in the case and claimed that an "atom bomb could explode any time in Jharkhand", apparently indicating to his pending decision in the matter.