Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren is in the midst of an office-of-profit row regarding a mining lease that he is accused of having awarded himself last year while holding charge of the state mining and environment departments.
The Election Commission of India has taken cognisance of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party’s complaint after the intervention of governor Ramesh Bais. The high court has issued a notice to Soren after a petition sought a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the allegation.
Jharkhand’s ruling party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has denied the allegations. The BJP wants Soren to be disqualified from the assembly for violating the Representation of the People Act.
The allegation
The BJP accused the chief minister, who also looks after the state’s mining and environment departments, of receiving undue benefits on account of his official position by granting himself a lease to mine stone chips in Ranchi’s Angara block in July last year. Soren’s application for a stone mining lease on plot number 482 was pending for 13 years and the district mining office in Ranchi granted it on July 10, 2021, the BJP alleged.
The charges were raked up for the first time on February 10 by BJP leader and former Jharkhand chief minister Raghubar Das, who demanded Soren’s resignation over the issue. A BJP delegation led by Das and the legislature party leader Babulal Marandi met the governor on February 11. They accused Soren of violating Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Under the section, a person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by, that government.
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The BJP said the lease was a violation because the district mining office reports to the state mines department of which the chief minister is in charge. Soren’s younger brother Basant Soren and sister-in-law Sita Soren, both MLAs, are also facing legal trouble in the case, according to a report. Soren is also accused of awarding mining leases to his political advisor Pankaj Mishra and press advisor Abhishek Prasad, according to a report in the Print.
Governor meets PM Modi, HM Shah
Last week, Jharkhand governor Bais met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue. Earlier, on the governor’s request, the Election Commission of India sought a response from the state government, along with documents related to the allotment of mining leases.
On April 8, the Jharkhand High Court issued a notice to CM Soren on a public interest litigation seeking an inquiry by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate in the case.
The litigation filed in February alleged that Soren obtained a lease of 0.88-acre area in Angara block of Ranchi and a letter of intent had been issued by Ranchi’s District Mining Office on June 16, 2021. On September 9, CM Soren applied for environmental clearance, which was given by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority by September 18, the petition said.
JMM’s defence
Soren’s party, the JMM, denied the allegations.
“Office of profit comes into force if there are any financial dealings. The mine under question was inoperative and was also surrendered,” JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharjee said.
The party said the plot in Angara, cited by the BJP, was owned by the Sorens since 2008 and the CM had surrendered the mining lease granted by the government. The CM had furnished all details in his election affidavits since 2009.
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“As far as the stone mine is concerned, it never came into operation,” he said.
The row may lead to trouble for the JMM-led government in the state. The alliance of the JMM, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal has 47 legislators in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly. While the JMM has 30 MLAs, the Congress has 18 and the RJD 1 legislator.
‘Controversial’ Sorens
The Soren family is not new to controversy. Hemant Soren’s father Shibu Soren, currently a member of the Rajya Sabha, was one of four JMM members of parliament accused of taking money to support the PV Narsimha Rao-led minority Congress government in 1993. The MPs, however, escaped judicial scrutiny on account of parliamentary privilege under Article 105 (2) of the Constitution of India.
In 2002, Shibu Soren was disqualified as Rajya Sabha member for holding an office of profit while being chairman of the Jharkhand Area Autonomous Council.
In 2006, a trial court in Delhi sentenced Shibu Soren, then a Union minister, to life imprisonment for his involvement in the 1994 abduction and murder of his private secretary Shashi Nath Jha. He was acquitted in the case by the high court in 2013. The acquittal was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Expert view
Legal experts said the charge against Hemant Soren may not lead to his disqualification as an MLA. Retired Supreme Court Justice Ashok Ganguly told news agency PTI that it is unlikely that the CM will be disqualified under Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act in view of earlier judgments by the top court.
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“A constitution bench of the Supreme Court in 1964 in the case of CVK Rao vs Dentu Bhaskara Rao has held that a mining lease does not amount to a contract of supply of goods,” he said.
In 2001, a three-judge bench of the apex court in the case of Kartar Singh Bhadana vs Hari Singh Nalwa & others also made it clear that a mining lease does not amount to execution of a work undertaken by the government, Ganguly told the news agency.
(With PTI inputs)
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