Ex-DSP Navneet Hembram submitted his nomination as a Bharatiya Janata Party BJP candidate for the Maheshpur assembly seat in the upcoming Jharkhand assembly elections on 29 October. Hembram was listed as one of the BJP candidates in the initial list. Nevertheless, he had no choice but to submit his nomination on 29 October.
He had been waiting for many months to resign from Jharkhand Police. After the Jharkhand High Court and Election Commission intervened, the Hemant Soren government acknowledged his resignation on 28 October. Hembram stepped down as DSP on 15 June. There were rumors that BJP might select him as their candidate from Maheshpur, a constituency allocated for ST category. Declining the resignation could lower the likelihood of a government official running in elections.
According to Rule 808 of the Jharkhand Police Manual, resignations from police officers must be written and signed by the individual requesting it. According to Section 8 of the Police Act, officers must provide a two months’ notice before being relieved, however, superiors have the power to relieve them sooner.
Hembram made numerous attempts to have his resignation approved by the JMM-led state government in hopes of receiving a ticket from BJP. Insiders reported that after multiple pleas to the government went unanswered, he decided to take his case to the High Court in August. On September 4, High Court Justice Deepak Roshan dismissed Hembram’s petition and directed the IGP to issue a formal order within four weeks, adhering to Rule 808 of the Police Manual.
For six weeks, the government refused to accept Hembram’s resignation. Because of this, he was required to submit a contempt petition to the High Court on 18 October. During the upcoming court session scheduled for 25 October, the attorney informed the judge that the document is currently awaiting approval from CM Hemant Soren, and the order for relief will be released shortly. Hembram did not feel relieved until the morning of 28 October.
Subsequently, the BJP candidate penned a letter to the Election Commission regarding his grievance. The Election Commission sent a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer of Jharkhand on that very day. The Election Commission’s letter asked the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand to collect and submit a report on Hembram’s complaint by 2 pm on 28 October. Following this, the issue was settled.
A notification was released by the Home Department of the Jharkhand government. The acceptance of Jharkhand DSP Hembram’s resignation has been confirmed. At 4.30 pm, the government notified the court that it has followed the directive. Hembram informed the Indian Express that all I want to mention is that I have submitted my nomination.
According to a source within the government, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha administration appears eager to secure victory in the election, leading Hembram to go door-to-door in order to campaign. Hembram is facing off against Stephen Marandi, a two-time JMM MLA. During the 2019 elections, Marandi won over BJP’s Mistry Soren with a margin of 34,000 votes.