In a setback for Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand High Court dismissed his plea to quash an ED complaint over alleged non-compliance with summons.The court said it would not interfere at this stage in the pending proceedings.
JHARKHAND: In a significant setback for Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand High Court dismissed his petition on Wednesday, which sought to quash the complaint case concerning his failure to comply with summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court clarified that it was not willing to intervene in the matter at this point.
Soren challenged the proceedings and the cognizance taken by the MP-MLA court, seeking the dismissal of the case; however, his petition was rejected.
With the High Court declining to interfere, the proceedings in the MP-MLA Special Court will proceed. This case pertains mainly to the alleged illegal acquisition of approximately 8.5 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain area along with associated money laundering allegations.
The ED filed the complaint against Soren in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court on February 20, 2025, for disobeying summons, which was later transferred to the MP-MLA court on June 3. After taking cognizance of the case on March 4, the court indicated that Soren had, prima facie, failed to comply with the summons.
According to the ED’s complaint, Hemant Soren received 10 summons related to the money laundering case tied to the land scam but only appeared before the agency twice on January 20 and January 31. The ED reported that Soren ignored the summons on eight occasions.
After he missed the eighth summons concerning the land scam case, Soren finally agreed to participate in the investigation, undergoing questioning at his Ranchi residence for over seven hours on January 20.
Subsequently, on January 27, the ED sent another communication to the Chief Minister, requesting him to specify a time and location for questioning on either January 29 or January 31. The agency warned that if he failed to respond, they would visit his official residence for questioning.
Also Read: Hemant Soren Exempted From Personal Appearance In ED Case: Jharkhand High Court
After receiving the tenth summons, Soren agreed to appear again and was questioned for the second time on January 31.
The ED ultimately arrested Soren on January 31, 2024, after he allegedly evaded officials and went missing from his Delhi residence on January 29. He remained untraceable for approximately 40 hours before emerging in Ranchi on the day of his arrest.
The ED was investigating into five land scam cases based on multiple FIRs filed by the Jharkhand and Kolkata Police against numerous individuals, including government officials. These inquiries revealed an active land mafia in Jharkhand engaged in tampering with land records in Ranchi and Kolkata.
The land scam was being investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in which the accused were charged with forgery, tampering, and fabrication of land records, which altered properties designated as non-saleable under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act) a law aimed at safeguarding the land rights of tribal and marginalized communities.
Also Read: BREAKING | Ex-CM Hemant Soren Granted Bail by Jharkhand HC
The original records from Kolkata, which have been found to be forged, were submitted for forensic examination upon the directive of the Hon’ble Special Court (PMLA), Ranchi. It was determined that some lands acquired through these falsifications are currently under the illegal possession of Hemant Soren, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand.
Previously, the ED conducted 55 searches and nine surveys in these cases, resulting in the seizure of incriminating evidence, including forged seals from the Land Revenue Department, fake land deeds, records of the distribution of proceeds of crime, photographs documenting the forgery, and evidence of bribing government officials.
A prosecution complaint was filed on March 30, 2024, detailing the roles of other accused in aiding Hemant Soren’s unlawful acquisition and possession of the property, which is valued at Rs. 31 Crore.
FOLLOW US ON YOUTUBE FOR MORE LEGAL UPDATES
