New Delhi: The sentencing of former Coal Minister Shibu Soren has been deferred till December 5, owing to his ill-health.
Additional Sessions Judge B R Kedia was to pronounce the sentence on Soren at a Tis Hazari court on Friday. Soren and four others were convicted on November 28, for the murder of his personal assistant Shashi Nath Jha, in May 1994.
Soren was, however, present in court today after under going treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. His stay at the hospital is likely to be extended.
The conviction on Tuesday saw both Houses of Parliament in a state of uproar; resulting in an adjournment. Soon after the conviction, Soren resigned from the Union Cabinet after being taken into custody.
There is a possibility of Soren getting a life term.
The six co-accused in the case are Sunil Khaware, Ashish Thakur, Nand Kishore alias Nandu, Shailendra Bhattacharya, Ajay Kumar Mehta and Pashupati Nath Mehta.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed a chargesheet against the seven, including the Minister, on November 10, 1998.
The CBI had then alleged that Jha was abducted on May 22, 1994, from Dhaula Kuan in New Delhi and taken to Ranchi, where he was murdered.
The CBI contended that the motive behind Jha's murder was his knowledge about the payment of a bribe that four erstwhile Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Members of Parliament (MPs) had received.
Soren's conviction could result in fresh troubles for the ruling UPA as the opposition BJP has been campaigning relentlessly for the ouster of criminal ministers and Soren has considerable political presence in the tribal state of Jharkhand.
He represents Dumka Lok Sabha constituency in the present Lok Sabha.
This is not the first time that Soren is facing arrest. In 2004, soon after UPA government came to power, an arrest warrant was issued in his name by the Jharkhand police in connection to the 1975 Chirrudih massacre.
As the Opposition parties demanded his resignation, Soren went 'underground' and remained untraced till he formally resigned on July 24, 2004.
UPA led Congress came out in his support and alleged that 'arrest warrant' was politically motivated since Jharkhand was then ruled by his 'political opponent, the BJP'.
Later, he surrendered to the police and got bail.
In 2005, Soren became the Chief Minister of Jharkhand but had to soon resign after his government failed to secure a majority in the House.
Comments
0 comment