VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, July 13: The Election Commission of India (ECI) deferred the hearing of the office of the profit case against JMM MLA Basant Soren till August 4. The ECI was set to hear the case on July 14 when Basant Soren represented by his lawyer Meenakshi Arora sought an additional time.
“Basant Soren requested additional time and the same has been granted by the ECI. The hearing will now take place on August 4,” said Harsh Deepak who assists the ECI on behalf of the BJP.
But there is no change in the schedule of the hearing of the office of profit case against elder brother and Chief Minister Hemant Soren where the hearing is scheduled on July 15. Notably, on June 28, the ECI had conducted the hearing against Hemant Soren.
In the complaint, the BJP said that Basant Soren suppressed information about his association with a mining company Grands Mining Works LLP.
The BJP alleged that Basant Soren held the post of director of this company which comes under the definition of office of profit. The ECI sent him a notice and directed to reply by May 12 as to why his membership of the Jharkhand assembly should not be terminated under section 9 A of the Representation of People’s Act as he is involved in private business.
Basant Soren filed a reply after which the ECI further issued him notice to appear for the hearing.
The ECI is examining whether Basant Soren as an MLA continued private business and he used his influence to obtain mining and other business rights. Based on the documents the ECI in the light of the Indian Constitution wants to examine whether such business comes under the definition of the office of profit.
The ECI is examining whether such public servants are liable for disqualification as a member of the assembly under Article 192 of the Constitution. Grands Mining Works is a Limited Liability Partnership firm incorporated on 17 February 2015. It is registered at the Registrar of Companies, Jharkhand. Designated Partners of this company are Basant Soren, Narendra Singh, Suresh K. Nagre and Bhupendra Kumar Singh. The company is based in Bokaro. Basant Soren is also a partner in two other companies namely Maa Bhadrakali Alloys Pvt Ltd and Accent Minmet Resources Private Limited. Nevertheless, Basant Soren in his 2016 Rajya Sabha election affidavit had mentioned having invested in Grands Mining Works LLP and Maa Bhadrakali Alloys Pvt Ltd.
