harkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren took a veiled dig at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after the Supreme Court declined to interfere with the Jharkhand High Court's order granting him bail in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
Speaking to the media, the Jharkhand Chief Minister welcomed the apex court's decision, emphasizing the judiciary's supremacy and condemning those he accused of trying to malign his family's reputation and waste his time.
"The Soren family has been maligned in many ways, and my precious time has also been wasted by these people... The court is supreme. There is no darkness here. But some groups waste the time of the court and unnecessarily try to silence the voices of people working in society, misusing their powers," Soren said. "Today, the court has proved this," he added.
Significantly, Soren's comments came after the Supreme Court refused to overturn the Jharkhand High Court's decision to grant him bail, following a petition from the ED challenging the High Court's order as illegal. The Supreme Court's two-member bench, Justices B R Gavai and K V Vishwanathan, described the High Court's judgment as well reasoned.
"We are not inclined to interfere with the HC's order. However, we clarify that the observations by the HC shall not influence the trial judge. Since the observations made by the single judge of the High Court are with regard to the grant of bail, they shall not influence the trial judge at the stage of trial or any other proceedings," the Supreme Court stated.
It is pertinent to note that the ED had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court questioning the validity of the High Court's June 28 order, arguing that the HC's decision to grant bail to Soren was "illegal" and asserting that the HC had misjudged in concluding that there was no prima facie case against the JMM chief.
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