CJ Ravi Ranjan asked the Advocate General how an accused was allowed to serve an affidavit on behalf of the State, and that too in a “sensitive matter”. To this, AG Rajiv Ranjan replied that the trial against DC Chhavi Ranjan was still on and that he was out on bail. However, the court went on to rebuke the State
The issue came up when the bench of Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad was hearing three PILs related to the 2010 MGNREGA scam, allotment of mining lease and alleged use of shell companies for money laundering.
In the last two years, this is the third missive from Jharkhand government, urging the BRO to get a better deal for its workers who face “exploitative working conditions” in high-altitude areas.
The ED’s action comes at a time when Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is under the scanner for allegedly allotting a mine on lease to himself, and an industrial plot to his wife.
The 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer has been taken into ED custody under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Shibu Soren’s fight to free tribal land from the mining mafia made him the leader he was. Now sons Hemant and Basant may have dug themselves into a hole over mining leases.
The incident was brought to light in a Facebook post by a passenger at the airport who was waiting to board another flight. The author of the post, Manisha Gupta, told The Indian Express that the IndiGo staff “did not show any compassion”.
Raids were conducted on Friday at 18 locations in four states, including premises linked to state Mining Secretary Singhal, as part of ED's probe in a case of money laundering involving alleged diversion of MGNREGA funds between 2006 and 2010 in Khunti district.
Though the ED case is an old one, the raids come at a time when Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren is facing allegations of corruption for allotting a mining lease to himself and an industrial plot to his wife.
Saryu Roy recently alleged that the Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta had disbursed Covid incentives equivalent to a month’s basic salary to 60 employees, including himself.
Former Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das released a set of documents accusing Soren of "misusing his post" to get "in-principle approval" for a stone quarrying lease in his name in Ranchi district last year.
The audit was conducted by the Jharkhand's Principal Auditor General (PAG) in six districts, where a sum of about Rs 3,000 crore was collected as DMFT fund between 2015 and 2021. The audit was conducted between December 2020 and April 2022.
From the heat wave to depleted capacity, and technical snags to coal shortage, states are facing multiple problems in meeting increased demand for power. A look at the situation in some:
JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said: “It (land allotment to Kalpana Soren) was an open process that was duly advertised. Many people participated. Targeting CM's wife is not fair.”
In a press conference, Das said: “Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren has been given 11 acres of land in an industrial area in Ranchi. This is at a time when Soren is currently the Industries Minister and he has used his position to get his wife the land. He is supposed to give answers.”
Jharkhand CM’s political capital believed to have been eroded by a disproportionate assets case against his family, a Lokpal inquiry, and a petition against a mining lease he acquired last year.
In its April 8 letter to Jharkhand Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh, the ECI asked for copy of the application, lease deed, minor mineral concession rules, lease agreement and all annexures to the documents.