Indian Coal and Mines Minister Shibu Soren resigned on Saturday after an arrest warrant was issued against him on charges of inciting arson and violence during a rally in 1975.
Since the warrant was issued last Saturday, Soren, a thickly bearded tribal leader from the eastern state of Jharkhand, has not appeared in parliament or at his ministry. Jharkhand police have searched his New Delhi home.
"Shibu Soren was asked to resign and he has tendered his resignation," parliamentary affairs minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told reporters, giving no further details.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has faced mounting opposition attacks over Soren whose aides have said he has been framed for political reasons.
Ten people were killed during clashes between two villages in Jharkhand in 1975.
Soren is a leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, which successfully led the struggle to carve out the mineral-rich tribal areas of the Bihar into the new state of Jharkand.
He was charged a decade ago with receiving a bribe to support the ruling party in parliament, but was acquitted.