Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday quashed the FIR registered against Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with an alleged violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) during the 2014 Assembly elections, bringing an end to all criminal proceedings against him in the case.
Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary passed the order after hearing detailed arguments from both the petitioner and the state government.
The case dates back to the 2014 Jharkhand Assembly elections, when an FIR (Case No. 418/2014) was lodged against Soren at Adityapur police station in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, alleging that he had violated the Election Commission’s Model Code of Conduct.
Soren later challenged the FIR before the High Court, arguing that the case had no legal basis and seeking its dismissal. The petition had remained pending for several years.
During the hearing, the High Court had earlier stayed proceedings before the trial court and later took up the matter for final adjudication.
Representing the Chief Minister, advocate Pradeep Chandra argued that Soren had not violated the Model Code of Conduct in any manner. He told the court that the JMM leader had only participated in election campaigning for a candidate of his party, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and that the FIR had been registered out of political vendetta.
After examining the case records, documents and legal submissions made by both sides, the court held that there were no sufficient grounds to sustain the criminal case.
The High Court consequently allowed Soren’s criminal writ petition and quashed the FIR, effectively closing the nearly 12-year-old case.
With inputs from IANS