In a respite for Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren, the Kudco murder case in which he is an accused was transferred to another judge?two days before the judgment was to be delivered. Now, the verdict will take some more time to come as arguments and counter-arguments are to start anew.
After years of recording evidence and hearing the arguments of the defence and the prosecution, Giridih Additional District Session Judge NN Singh had fixed April 17 for delivering the judgment. But on April 13, he wrote to Giridih District Sessions Judge Sanjay Prasad, requesting him to transfer the case. ?My submission is based on some reasons,? Judge Singh said in his letter, without specifying any of these reasons.
His plea was accepted and the case was transferred to the court of Mohammed Kasim on April 15. This means there will be further delay in the disposal of the case as the recorded evidence and statements of the accused have to be placed before the court of Judge Kasim, and arguments and counter-arguments of the prosecution and the defence are to begin there afresh.
The case dates back to April 15,1974, when two residents of Kudco village in Giridih?Chundi Singh and Khirodhar Singh?were killed in a group clash after they allegedly stole and killed some goats, according to the police chargesheet submitted on December 1,41,978, against 10 accused, including Soren.
In all, there were 19 witnesses, including three ASIs?Koleshwar Mishra, Md Hussain and Lalan Ojha. While nine witnesses have since died, five including Mishra, Husain and Ojha and LN Mandal, who had conducted the post-mortem, are untraceable. Eight accused were acquitted earlier. Soren, who was declared an absconder, was slated to be present in the court of Judge Singh to hear the verdict.
Soren is also an accused in the Shashi Nath Jha kidnapping-cum-murder case? pending in the Supreme Court, though he was acquitted by the Delhi High Court.
Soren?a Lok Sabha MP, is required to get elected as an MLA before June 30 to remain in the CM?s chair.