Govt welcomes Soren acquittal

NEW DELHI: Government on Wednesday welcomed the acquittal of former Union Minister Shibu Soren by the Delhi High Court in a murder case, but side-stepped queries on whether the JMM supremo would be reinstated in the Cabinet.

"This is a good news. We will now win the Lok Sabha bye-election in Jharkhand," Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters.

He, however, parried questions on whether Soren would be re-inducted into the Cabinet, saying, "You should ask those who take the decision."

The High Court on Wednesday acquitted the 62-year-old leader in connection with the murder of his private secretary Shashi Nath Jha in 1994 after slamming the CBI for failing "miserably" in getting evidence against the tribal leader.

Setting aside the trial court order, which had sentenced Soren and four others to life term, a Bench of Justice RS Sodhi and HR Malhotra said the CBI had "miserably failed" to prove the case.