Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Monday directed the state government and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to furnish a status report in the investigation done in the mining lease case against Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Soren has been in the eye of the storm over reports of a mining plot in Angarha leased in his name. The lease was granted in favour of the chief minister in his individual capacity while he held the portfolio of the mines department.
A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Justice Ananda Sen, hearing a public interest litigation filed by RTI activist Sunil Kumar Mahto, directed the state government and the ED to furnish the status report.
The case will now be heard again on May 1.
In his petition, Mahto has said that Soren having a mine leased in his favour is a direct violation of the mandate of “not holding of an office of profit” rule for public representatives.
Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, defending the state government, said the PIL has been filed frivolously and is politically motivated.
PTI