Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren gets big relief from Supreme Court in mining lease case; check details

Earlier, EC had arrested his aide Pankaj Mishra and two others in the case, after raids in July and seizure of 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. Three months ago, the ED questioned CM Soren's press adviser, Abhishek Prasad, too.

In a huge sigh of relief for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Supreme Court on Monday (November 7) allowed his plea challenging a Jharkhand High Court order against him in the illegal mining case.

Earlier, the Jharkhand High Court had held the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking probe against CM Soren in the alleged mining scam case maintainable.

CM Soren faces disqualification as MLA on the BJP's complaint for granting himself a mining lease while holding office in 2021. Earlier, the Election Commission has allegedly recommended to Governor Ramesh Bais that the action be taken against him. But the Governor has kept that hanging, even though CM Soren has asked for the "envelope" to be opened immediately.

Earlier, EC had arrested his aide Pankaj Mishra and two others in the case, after raids in July and seizure of 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. Three months ago, the ED questioned CM Soren's press adviser, Abhishek Prasad, too.

The ED reportedly also recovered a passbook of Hemant Soren and some cheques signed by him from the home of Mishra - the prime accused in the case. 

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.