The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Enforcement Directorate has a good case on merits against former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren in the money laundering case against him related to an alleged land scam. The court also asked the JMM leader if a writ court can examine the legality of his arrest after the trial court has taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint.
During the hearing, the ED made a big charge against Soren, saying he was not only guilty of money laundering but also attempted to destroy evidence. Additional solicitor general SV Raju said Soren, after he was issued a notice in the case, tried to reach one of the earlier owners and change the possession document. This means he is not only guilty, but also destroying evidence and the high court has looked into this in detail.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma, which posted the matter for further hearing on Wednesday (May 22), asked Soren’s counsel to first satisfy the court as to how interim bail can be granted to him for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections when his application for regular bail has been dismissed.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury, appearing for Soren, sought time till Wednesday (May 22) to respond to the court’s queries. ASG Raju, appearing for the ED, opposed Soren’s interim bail plea, contending his case was different from that of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who was granted interim bail on May 10 for campaigning in the general elections.
Raju said the trial court had on April 4 taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint, ED’s equivalent of a chargesheet, upon finding that a prima facie case was made out against Soren. The ED has, in its affidavit, said Soren is actively attempting to “subvert” the probe by “misusing state machinery”.
It has opposed his “special prayer” for interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls. The central agency said Soren’s arrest on January 31 has been upheld by the Jharkhand High Court and his regular bail application dismissed by the trial court on May 13.
On May 13, Soren referred to the top court’s order granting interim bail to Kejriwal and sought identical relief for himself. In his appeal filed through advocate Praghya Baghel, he said the HC had erred in dismissing his plea.
The ED has alleged that “huge amounts of proceeds of crime” were generated by Soren through manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land with value in crores. The probe pertains to an 8.86-acre plot of land in Ranchi that the ED has alleged was illegally acquired by him.
(With PTI inputs)
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