SC asks Jharkhand govt to place PIL, documents filed in HC against CM Soren
Aug 12, 2022
New Delhi [India], August 12 : The Supreme Court on Friday asked the Jharkhand government to place on record the public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the state High Court along with all the documents before it and adjourned the matter for August 17 in a case of shell companies allegedly linked to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his associates.
The court asked the counsel for the petitioner to place on record the copy of the writ petition along with its annexure and all the pleadings exchanged by the parties.
The court was hearing the plea of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the state government against the Jharkhand High Court order which had accepted the maintainability of a PIL in connection with shell companies allegedly related to Soren and his associates.
A bench headed by Justice UU Lalit also asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to place on record all the documents they wish to rely on.
The court asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Jharkhand government, to place all these representations in a paper book and asked the Jharkhand government to place a copy of the original PIL, writs and annexure of representations.
Sibal, meanwhile, told the court that this is a motivated PIL which needs to be thrown out. He also called the PIL as completely frivolous and not a genuine one.
The Jharkhand Government and chief minister Hemant Soren have moved the apex court against an order of the high court which had accepted the maintainability of PIL in connection with shell companies allegedly related to Hemant Soren and his associates.
The Jharkhand government has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the apex court challenging the Jharkhand High Court's order.
On June 3, Jharkhand High Court held two PILs against Soren and rejected the arguments made by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Mukul Rohatgi (questioning the maintainability of the two PILs filed against CM and his associates) in its 79-page order.
