Ranchi, Sep 30 (IANS) : In a setback to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the High Court on Wednesday refused to give him any relief in a PMLA case linked to 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain revenue circle.
The court asked the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a supplementary affidavit and asked the agency to provide a copy to the related parties by October 20.
The matter will now be heard on October 28.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Manoj Prasad was hearing Soren’s criminal writ petition challenging the Special PMLA Court’s order dated September 21.
The petition contests the lower court’s refusal to stay the process of framing charges against him until the ED completes its investigation.
Senior Advocate S. Nagamuthu appeared for Hemant Soren, while Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, Senior Advocate Amit Kumar Das, and Advocate Saurabh Kumar represented the ED through video conferencing.
The Jharkhand CM has challenged the lower court’s decision rejecting his plea to halt the framing of charges pending completion of the ED’s probe. Following the lower court’s order, the process of framing charges against him was allowed to proceed. Soren then moved the High Court seeking to stay on this process.
During the hearing, the High Court also considered the issue of the petition’s maintainability. After the ED raised objections on legal grounds, the court directed the agency to file a supplementary affidavit clarifying its position on the matter.
The case is related to alleged land irregularities and money laundering linked to 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain area. The ED’s investigation has examined allegations of manipulation of land records and irregularities in transactions associated with the property.
These allegations form part of the agency’s probe, while judicial proceedings in the matter remain underway.
With no immediate relief from the High Court, Hemant Soren will now have to appear before the Special PMLA Court.
The future course of the case will depend on both the High Court proceedings, with the next hearing scheduled for October 28, and the ongoing trial court process.
