Jharkhand HC issues notice to CM Hemant Soren for owning mining lease

A petition was filed in February this year, by one Shiv Shankar Sharma, who is being represented by Advocate Rajeev Kumar, on granting of stone chips mining lease in Ranchi last year. The petition stated that the High Court has been approached for an ‘appropriate direction to prosecute the Chief Minister (Hemant Soren)’, who is the Minister of Department of Mines, as he ‘misused’ his office in getting the mining lease in his own name.

The petition had stated that the Hemant Soren obtained a lease of 0.88 acre area in Angara block of Ranchi and a Letter of Intent had been issued by the Ranchi’s District Mining Office on June 16, 2021. The petition added that on September 9, the CM Soren applied for environmental clearance of the said mine, and that by September 18, the clearance was given by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. CM Soren also holds the Department of Environment and Forests.

During Friday’s hearing, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan said that the state had committed ‘a mistake’ and the lease has since been ‘surrendered’. He told the court that the state will file a detailed ‘affidavit’ in this matter to list out their point of view.

The High Court read through his petition and sought a response from Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, to which Ranjan said: “This petition has been filed to scandalise the situation’.

The court said: “Be that as it may let a counter affidavit be filed.”

In the same case, an interlocutory application has also been filed by the advocate Rajeev Kumar to ensure his safety as he had been threatened for filing the petition. In his petition, Kumar alleged that Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Chhavi Ranjan informed him that some people have planned to ‘destroy him’– ‘both by killing him by contract killers and destroying his property through local officers’. This happened after public interest litigation was filed.