Armed with a state public relations department communiqué, a resident of Ranchi has approached the Jharkhand High Court questioning Governor Syed Sibtey Razi, Chief Minister Shibu Soren and former CM Madhu Koda’s use of the state-owned aircraft for private sorties.

In response to an RTI application filed by Bindu Bhushan Dubey, the Public Relations Department had made available a 24-page document (a copy of which is with The Indian Express on how Razi, Soren and Koda used the state owned chopper for private visits with family and friends on several occasions.

The Bench comprising Chief Justice Gyan Sudha Mishra and Justice D P Sinha on August 29 directed Dubey to name the state unit of the Comptroller and Accountant General as a respondent in the petition. “We have already complied with the court order and the hearing will soon take place,” said Dubey.

The department has listed the 359 sorties that were undertaken at a cost of Rs 946 crore between September 18, 2006 — the day Koda was sworn in as the CM — and May 27, 2009, three months before he quit as CM.