Jharkhand leader Hemant Soren's arrest in a money laundering case on Wednesday prompted queries over how many Chief Ministers in the country have been behind the bars. He resigned as Chief Minister before his arrest, joining a long list of former chief ministers to have faced such an action. His party's minister Champai Soren will take over as the next Chief Minister.
The long list of (former) Chief Ministers in the country who have been behind the bars includes Bihar's Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tamil Nadu's J Jayalalithaa - two very powerful leaders in their respective states. Others are Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), Om Prakash Chautala (Haryana), Madhu Koda (Jharkhand).
Lalu Prasad Yadav, patriarch of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, was convicted in the fodder scam in 2013 along with former chief minister Jagannath Mishra. He and his son Tejashwi Yadav are currently being probed in a land-for-jobs case.
Mr Yadav was the Chief Minister of Bihar twice between 1990 and 1997.
Jayalalithaa, who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu several times between 1991 and 2016, was arrested in a corruption case in 1996. She was convicted and jailed in 2014.
Mr Chautala was convicted in a teachers' recruitment case in 2013 and was sentenced to 10 years in jail. He was awarded another four years in prison in a disproportionate assets case in 2022. He served as the Chief Minister of Haryana multiple times between 1989 and 2005.
Mr Naidu was arrested last year in connection with an alleged scam of 317 crore in the Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation during his tenure. He was the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh between 2014 and 2019.
Madhu Koda, who served as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand between 2006 and 2008, was arrested in 2009 in a mining scam.
However, no sitting Chief Minister has ever been arrested in India.
Only the President and state governors are immune from civil and criminal proceedings as long they hold their office, and are given protection from arrest. A sitting Chief Minister enjoys no such protection and can be arrested if an investigating agency has enough reason to take such action.
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