The Jharkhand High Court on Friday (May 3) rejected writ petition by jailed former chief minister Hemant Soren challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and denied bail to the JMM leader. The court, however, permitted him to attend his uncle’s last rites on May 6 under police custody.
Soren had challenged his arrest by the ED through the writ petition earlier. The court had kept the order reserved in the case on February 28.
The court of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay directed that he (Soren) can attend the last rites of his uncle in police custody.
The JMM leader was arrested by the ED on January 31 this year, after a high-voltage drama, in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged land scam. He is currently in judicial custody and lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
Soren was sent to the Birsa Munda Central Jail on February 15 after his 13-day custody of the ED.
Soren’s plea in Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on April 29 sought the Enforcement Directorate's response on Hemant Soren's interim bail plea in connection with the money laundering case.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta has issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), requesting a response by May 6.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury, representing Soren, expressed their intention to seek interim bail in the case.
Soren moved the top court on April 24, saying the high court was not pronouncing the verdict on his plea challenging his arrest in the case.
Case against Soren
The probe against Soren pertains to an 8.86-acre plot of land in Ranchi that the ED has alleged was illegally acquired by him. The money laundering investigation stems from multiple FIRs registered by Jharkhand Police in land "scam" cases against several people, including state government officials.
The ED is probing the alleged "huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores".
(With PTI inputs)
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