The Supreme Court heard the interim bail plea of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. During this, the top court sought response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. It is noteworthy that in the apex court, the High Court’s delay in giving its verdict on the petition and his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case have been challenged.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Dutta heard the JMM leader’s plea. During this, the bench issued a notice to ED and sought its reply by May 6. The court said that the Jharkhand High Court can give its verdict on the petition challenging Soren’s arrest in the case. This order was reserved on 28 February.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Choudhary, appearing for Soren, said they wanted interim bail in the case. Let us tell you, now this case can be heard in the second week of May.
Got a shock from Ranchi’s special PMLA court
Earlier, on April 27, Soren had suffered a shock. The special PMLA court in Ranchi had refused to grant him interim bail in a land scam case. Let us tell you, Ram Soren, father of Hemant Soren and brother of JMM supremo Shibu Soren, died on Saturday morning. He was ill for a long time. Soren had sought interim bail from the court for 13 days to attend the funeral of his uncle. However, during the hearing, the court had refused to grant him bail.
ED was given one week’s time
Let us tell you that Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31. He is accused of money laundering in a land scam case. The former CM is currently in judicial custody in Birsa Munda jail of Ranchi. In this case, ED was given another week’s time by the High Court to respond to Soren’s bail plea.
Investigation is related to 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi
The investigation against Soren pertains to 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi. ED alleges that it was seized illegally. The agency had filed a chargesheet in the special PMLA court here on March 30 against Soren, Prasad, Soren’s alleged ‘frontmen’ Raj Kumar Pahan and Hilarias Kachhap and the former chief minister’s alleged aide Binod Singh. Soren had filed a bail plea before a special court in Ranchi, alleging that his arrest was politically motivated and part of a planned conspiracy to force him to join the BJP.
