LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, April 3: The Jharkhand High Court today sought a reply from the state government in a PIL involving the issue of granting of stone mining lease to Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his close associates.
Accortding to Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, the State government has been asked to file its reply on the maintainability of the PIL.
The development took place after a division bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra heard a PIL filed by an information rights activist Sunil Kumar Mahto.
During the hearing, the Advocate General appearing on behalf of the state government opposed the PIL saying the Supreme Court in November last year had set aside the high court order in a similar matter and now the matter has surfaced again in the form of a PIL. The petitioner’s advocate, however, explained how the matter was fit to be heard as a PIL.
“Question of credibility of the petitioner was involved in an old PIL which reached before the apex court after the high court held it maintainable. Unlike that PIL, there is no question on the credibility of the petitioner in the petition and public interest is involved in it,” the petitioner’s advocate submitted.
The court fixed the date of hearing in the PIL on May 1.
