The stone mine lease allotment case has surfaced afresh again against Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Responding to a PIL, the Jharkhand High Court has directed Enforcement Directorate and Chief Minister Hemant Soren to file a reply in the stone mine lease allotment case.

The bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra today fixed May 1 for hearing the case.

This PIL filed by RTI activist and Jharkhand High Court lawyer Sunil Kumar Mahto has alleged that the Chief Minister cum in charge of the mines department had misused his authority to get mining lease allotted for himself. Soren, alleged the PIL, had got land and mining lease allotted to his wife  Kalpana Soren and her sister Sarla Murmu.

Arguing in favour of the CM Soren, Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan said that the allegations of the petitioner were not “ main tenable.” In response to a similar allegation made in the form of a PIL, the Supreme Court had rejected it and held that the allegations were “not main tenable.”So it is not appropriate to raise these allegations now, argued Advocate General. 
 
This was countered by Vinod Singh and Vishal Kumar, two advocates of the petitioner. 

Both argued that their submission made in the PIL has cited evidence indicating that Soren has misused his authority to gain a stone mining lease for himself and industrial land and mining lease allotted to his wife Kalpana Soren and her sister Sarla Murmu.

The bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Mishra admitted the PIL and ordered the issuance of a notice asking respondents including CM Hemant Soren and ED to submit a reply so that the hearing of this PIL can begin on May 1.