Elated at the acquittal of former Union minister Shibu Soren in a case related to his private secretary's murder, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha termed the Delhi High Court's order a "victory of justice".
"When the lower court sentenced our Guruji to life imprisonment, we said injustice was meted out to our leader who was innocent. This acquittal has vindicated our fight for justice," JMM vice-president and MP Hemlal Murmu said.
"Justice was delayed, but not denied," said Murmu, who was busy campaigning for a by-election in Jamshedpur.
Welcoming the court's verdict, JMM leader and Jharkhand Revenue Minister Dulal Bhyayan said, "We were confident about the acquittal."
Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto and Agriculture Minister Nalin Soren, both senior JMM leaders, too, hailed the verdict.
Setting aside a lower court's order that sentenced Soren and four others to life imprisonment, the bench comprising Justices R S Sodhi and H R Malhotra said the CBI had miserably failed to prove the case against them. The bench said the lower court's order is far from convincing.
The 62-year-old tribal leader is now at Jamtara prison in Jharkhand.