Shibu Soren, former Union minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief, was on Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment in a murder case by a Delhi court, earning a dubious first of its kind at the national level, after the Central Bureau of Investigation made a strong plea for awarding him capital punishment.
The 62-year-old tribal leader from Jharkhand, who was forced to quit as coal minister in the Manmohan Singh government last week due to his conviction, was also fined a sum of Rs 5 lakh, which would go to the mother and two daughters of the victim, Shashi Nath Jha. Jha was killed 12 years ago.
"Convict Shibu Soren is awarded life imprisonment for hatching conspiracy to kidnap the victim and later killing him with the help of other convicts," Additional Sessions Judge B R Kedia said in his order as his supporters shouted slogans outside the court.
A sixth time member of Lok Sabha, Guruji, as Soren is called by his supporters, can retain his membership of the House if he goes in appeal against his conviction and sentence for which he has three months time.
Four others convicted in the case were also awarded life sentence by Additional Sessions Judge B R Kedia who imposed a lesser fine of Rs 15,000 each on them.
In the news in the '90s for his vote in Lok Sabha in support of the then minority P V Narasimha Rao government after taking bribe, Soren was present in the jam-packed courtroom to which he had come from Tihar Jail, his residence for the last three days.
Shocked by the sentence he looked pale after the judge pronounced the order.
Soren is the first Union minister to be convicted in a murder case and to get life sentence.
Earlier in the day, the court heard arguments on the quantum of sentence from both CBI and defence lawyers.
Seeking maximum punishment of death sentence for murder, Special CBI Prosecutor A K Singh contended that the case fell under the rarest of rare category as the crime was committed in the most gruesome manner.
He said the manner in which Jha was kidnapped and murdered refelected the brutal nature of the offence against Soren and the other convicts, and demanded that retributive punishment be given in the case.
Citing judgements including in the Parliament attack case, Singh said Soren could be given the maximum sentence.
However, JMM chief's advocate R K Anand said Soren did not deserve death penalty as the case did not fall in that category and argued for lesser punishment maintaining that the 65-year-old leader played a key role in the creation of the tribal state of Jharkhand.
He said Soren did not have previous conviction against him and sought his release on probation saying his age, personality and his health should be considered while pronouncing the quantum of punishment.
Earlier, in his tenure in this government, Soren had to resign after a Jamtara court in Dumka district in Jharkhand issued a non-bailable warrant against him in connection with Chirudih massacre case during the Jharkhand movement agitation in 1975 in which 10 people were killed.
He is on bail in the case and was reinducted into the Cabinet early this year.
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