On Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate arrested the sitting Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, in a money laundering case. Soren became the third CM of the state arrested after his father, Sibu Soren, and Madhu Konda. Soren resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest and became a part of a long list of former chief ministers to have faced such action. Champai Soren will take over as the next Chief Minister. Before this, Champai served as Cabinet Minister of Transport, Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Caste & Backward class welfare in the cabinet of Hemant Soren.

For the first time in independent India’s history, a sitting CM has been arrested, despite many CMs having been arrested before. The incident highlighted whether there is any provision in the constitution of India to charge a sitting CM. 

Constitutional Provision

The constitution of India gives immunity power in civil and criminal matters only to the President of India and the Governor of States. Apart from these two, all the other constitutional positions are treated as equal before the law, as Article 14 of the Constitution mentions. However, if the President and Governor are found guilty, they can also be arrested after completion of the tenure. Article 361 of the constitution states that the President or Governor while holding the office, is not personally responsible for any court for the exercise and execution of their powers.

List of arrested CMs

Two extremely influential state leaders, J Jayalalithaa of Tamil Nadu and Lalu Prasad Yadav of Bihar are among the lengthy list of (former) Chief Ministers in the nation who have served time in prison. The others are Madhu Koda (Jharkhand), Om Prakash Chautala (Haryana), and Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh).

Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav and former chief minister Jagannath Mishra were found guilty in the 2013 fodder scam. A land-for-jobs case is being investigated against him and his son, Tejashwi Yadav.