Khushi Gupta
Published on: April 17, 2022 at 13:55 IST
The Election Commission of India started the Proceedings after Jharkhand Governor referred the matter for the Election Body’s Legal Opinion in March last week. Only the Election Commission of India can decide on Issue related to Office of profit for elected representatives,” said the Official.
“The Commission has therefore written to the State Government seeking information and authentication of the documents related to granting of the lease before sending its opinion to the Governor.”
The matter was first raised by former Chief Minister Raghubar Das on February 10, who sought disqualification and removal of Soren as Chief Minister claiming that he violated Constitutional Provision under Section 9A of The Representation of the People Act, 1951.
In a related matter, the State Government is also to file its Reply by April 22 before the Jharkhand High Court, which is hearing Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by one Shivshankar Sharma.
Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, representing the Government, had informed the Court that the granting of Lease was a ‘Mistake’ and the Chief Minister has already ‘Surrendered’ the lease. The Court, however, directed the State to file its reply and posted the matter for hearing on April 22.
Speaking over the Constitutional Provisions in such Cases, former Advocate General Ajit Kumar said, “Going by the information available in the Public Domain, the issue surely merits a Detailed Inquiry. There are several Ethics and Code prescribed for people holding such chair,” Kumar said.
“Can subordinate officials process an application of a Contract or a Lease to the person who himself heads that department?” he asked.