sc-allows-cbi-probe-into-mining-case-against-jharkhand-cm-aide

The double bench of the Supreme Court today allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the illegal stone-mining case in Jharkhand involving individuals allegedly close to Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The order was passed by the bench of Justices Alok Aradhe and Sanjay Kumar on a petition filed by the CBI, which had accused the Jharkhand government of hampering the probe. The bench questioned why the state government was opposing the investigation, given that people close to the Chief Minister were allegedly involved.

“Why is the state of Jharkhand trying to protect the Chief Minister’s aide, Pankaj Mishra?” the court asked.

The order is expected to trigger a fresh set of problems for Hemant Soren, who is already facing a money-laundering probe related to a land scam. The present matter concerns a ₹1,500-crore stone-mining scam in the Sahibganj district of Jharkhand. In 2022, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched an investigation into the illegal stone-mining racket and arrested influential JMM politician Pankaj Mishra, considered to be close to the Chief Minister.

 

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As the case progressed, a local resident, Vijay Hansda, also lodged a complaint alleging the involvement of Pankaj Mishra, mining officials, and certain mining mafias in illegal mining activities. The FIR was registered only after court intervention. Subsequently, the ED also took up this case for investigation. However, Hansda later expressed his desire to withdraw the complaint and filed a fresh petition, alleging that the ED had pressured him.

The Jharkhand High Court declined to permit Hansda to withdraw his petition. Instead, it directed the CBI to investigate both the conduct of the petitioner and the role of the accused in the illegal mining. Later, the Jharkhand government and Vijay Hansda filed separate petitions before the Supreme Court, arguing that the High Court had authorised the CBI only to examine the conduct of the petitioner and the accused, and not to probe the illegal mining case itself.

 

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