Today, On 12th June, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Jharkhand High Court that former Chief Minister Soren was a pivotal figure in the illegal acquisition of land. According to the ED, Soren’s involvement facilitated the unlawful transactions, leading to significant irregularities. The case highlights ongoing efforts to address corruption and enforce legal accountability in land deals.
Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Jharkhand High Court that former Chief Minister Hemant Soren allegedly involved in the illegal acquisition of land in Bargain, the state capital. During the court proceedings, the ED’s counsel, S.V. Raju, argued that Soren had acquired the land in 2009-2010 and had a boundary wall constructed to secure its possession.
Soren, who currently serves as the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, filed a petition before the high court on May 27th, seeking bail in a money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
The court asked the ED to respond to the matter on June 12th, and the hearing scheduled to continue on the following day.
Read Also: BREAKING | Hemant Soren’s Bail Plea Rejected in Jharkhand Court
According to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) counsel, the federal agency conducted independent surveys of the land in question and the caretaker informed them that the land belongs to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren.
Additionally, the ED said it recovered several documents which indicate that the land records manipulated to favour Soren.
Supreme Court senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued for granting bail to the former Jharkhand Chief Minister, contending that Soren has been falsely implicated in a criminal case by the ED. Soren, who arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with a money-laundering case, requested an early hearing from the high court.
Sibal previously argued that Soren has been wrongfully accused of usurping an 8.86-acre plot in Bargain, and that this act does not constitute an offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, for which Soren has been jailed. However, the ED alleged that the land documents were altered and the original landowners forcibly evicted by Soren.
Sibal argued that the original landowners never complained or contacted the authorities when their land allegedly taken. He pointed out that the supposed act of forcible eviction occurred in 2009–10, but a report was only filed in 2023.
Sibal contended that even if the allegations against Soren were true, they would constitute a civil issue of forcible eviction rather than a criminal matter.
He suggested that the criminal case driven by ulterior motives to keep Soren in jail. He also accused the ED of tampering with evidence and creating false documents to implicate Soren.
The original landowner, Raj Kumar Pahan, already applied for the restoration of the land in his name, which currently being processed.
Sibal argued that the JMM leader, a victim of a political conspiracy and had been implicated without any substantial evidence.
On May 22, Soren’s plea for relief from the Supreme Court unsuccessful, as the court criticized him for “suppressing material facts” in his application against arrest in the money laundering case.
Read Also: Hemant Soren Withdraws Plea Against ED Arrest in Supreme Court
The vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Soren’s counsel, Kapil Sibal, to withdraw the pleas for interim bail for Lok Sabha poll campaigning and against his arrest. The Supreme Court indicated that it would dismiss these pleas, as Soren had not approached the court with complete transparency.
The Supreme Court noted that Soren had not informed it of the April 4 order of the special PMLA court, which had taken cognizance of the prosecution’s complaint.
Additionally, the court observed that Soren’s regular bail petition, filed on April 15, had been dismissed on May 13.
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