July 22: A dramatic coincidence in court and an explosive atmosphere in Parliament over Sibu Soren kept the political pot boiling but the whereabouts of the Union coal minister continued to stay under wraps for the third day in a row today.

The Union ministry tonight ruled out a probe for tracing Soren as it has received no complaint “either from his family or his party that he was absconding”.

The high court bench in Jharkhand did not take up Soren’s petition challenging the arrest warrant against him as the judge said he had recorded a dying declaration related to the 30-year-old case.

Soren’s petition will be listed for admission tomorrow. Jharkhand chief justice P.K.I. Balasubramanyan accepted the plea of Supreme Court lawyer R.K. Jain to hear the matter on a priority basis. Jain was engaged today by Soren’s lawyer R.S. Majumdar to mention the case.

The case was originally listed for the bench of Justice Laxman Oraon, who refused to hear the petition, saying it would not be proper for him to preside over the case.

The judge said he had recorded the dying declaration of a person associated with the case when he was the magistrate of the Jamtara district court.

Majumdar said the case would be listed in any bench except that of Justices Laxman Oraon and Amreshwar Sahay. “We informed the court that Justice Amreshwar Sahay was Soren’s lawyer before he became judge,” he added.

Soren had made two prayers in his petition — quash the arrest warrant and direct the state government to withdraw the riot case as it was linked to the Jharkhand movement.

The absence of Soren from Parliament triggered a furore that, at one stage, looked set to descend into a free-for-all.

The BJP-led Opposition today stalled both Houses of Parliament demanding a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the arrest warrant on Soren. But the government ruled out the possibility of a statement by Singh.

Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani said the situation was unprecedented as the minister was “absconding” to avoid arrest. “It is disgraceful for this government. The minister should be dropped immediately,” he added.

Speaker Somnath Chatterjee conducted question hour for nearly 45 minutes, despite the BJP members gathering in the well of the House and shouting slogans. The unruly scenes eventually prompted the Speaker to briefly adjourn the House.

When the House reassembled at noon, Shiv Sena leader Ananth Geethe and Rashtriya Janata Dal member Ram Kripal Yadav nearly came to blows, forcing another adjournment.

A semblance of order prevailed when the House reassumed after a couple of hours. Advani, who was allowed to make his point by the Speaker, iterated his demand for a statement from Singh and requested that House proceedings be put on hold till then.

Chatterjee adjourned the House in “deference” to the request of the “learned Opposition leader”.