From Kejriwal to Soren: A look at arrested CMs and ministers in recent years

On Wednesday (August 20), the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament saw Union Home Minister Amit Shah introduce three Bills in Lok Sabha, which provide unprecedented powers to Governors and Lieutenant Governors to sack any chief minister or minister of a state or Union Territory who has been arrested and taken into custody.

The Constitution (130th Amendment) Bill, 2025, the Government of Union Territories (Amendment) Bill, 2025 and the J&K Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2025 were introduced and referred to a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny amid huge protests by the Opposition.

Also Read: Amit Shah tables 3 Bills in LS to remove PM, CMs; Oppn tears copies in protest

Controversial bills

If enacted, these Bills would empower Governors and Lieutenant Governors to dismiss a chief minister or minister who has been kept in custody for more than 30 consecutive days on charges carrying a potential sentence of five years or more.

The Opposition has slammed the move as unconstitutional, calling it a bid to destabilise elected governments.

Let us take a look at a number of instances where a CM, ministers, or influential ministers were arrested.

Kejriwal’s arrest sets a new precedent

In March 2024, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal became the first sitting CM in India to be arrested, after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) took him into custody in connection with the Delhi liquor policy scam.

His arrest was followed by multiple bail hearings and re-arrests, including a dramatic CBI custody order in June 2024, making his case one of the most politically consequential in recent memory.

Hemant Soren's arrest

Jharkhand’s CM Hemant Soren resigned from the chief minister’s post in January 2024, hours before the ED arrested him in an alleged land scam case. He spent nearly five months in jail before being granted bail in June 2024.

Interestingly, his father, Shibu Soren, also a former Jharkhand CM and Union Minister, had earlier served prison time in a murder case, making the Sorens the only father-son duo of CMs in India to have served jail terms.

Also Read: TMC MPs accuse Centre of bringing new Bills to topple state governments

Former CMs face legal charges

Beyond sitting chief ministers, several former chief ministers have also faced arrests over the years, including N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), who was arrested in September 2023 in a Rs 300-crore skill development scam.

Madhu Koda (Jharkhand) was jailed in 2009 for a mining scam. Om Prakash Chautala (Haryana) was sentenced in 2013 in the infamous teachers’ recruitment scam.

Lalu Prasad Yadav (Bihar) served jail time in the fodder scam. J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu) was convicted in 2014 in a disproportionate assets case, though later acquitted.

Also Read: Centre proposes 3 Bills to sack PM, CMs if arrested for 30 days

Ministers under the scanner

Senior ministers, too, have come under the scanner, like Delhi’s former Deputy CM, Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in February 2023 in the excise scam case linked to Kejriwal. He was granted bail in August 2024.

V Senthil Balaji, a Tamil Nadu minister, was arrested in June 2023 in a money laundering case and released in September 2024. Jyotipriya Mallick, West Bengal’s food and supplies minister, was arrested in October 2023 in a ration scam and remains in custody.

Anil Deshmukh, Maharashtra’s former Home Minister, was arrested in November 2021 on money laundering charges and spent a year in jail.