The Jharkhand High Court on Monday ordered no coercive action against Enforcement Directorate officers in a case lodged against them by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at ST, SC Police Station in Ranchi on January 31. Soren had lodged an FIR against ED officials alleging them of harassing him for belonging to the tribal community and defaming him before the common masses.
The FIR was lodged on the same day when Soren was arrested by ED on January 31. It was registered in the ST, SC Police Station in Ranchi against ED officers Kapil Raj, Anupam Kumar, Aman Patel, Deovrat Jha, and others under Section 3(1) (P)(R)(S)(U) of ST-SC(PA) Act.
Soren, in his FIR, had alleged that the ED had conducted a search operation at his Delhi residence - Shantiniketan and Jharkhand Bhawan on January 29 to tarnish his image. However, at the time of the search operation, Soren was not present at the locations and was virtually ‘untraceable’ till he resurfaced in Ranchi after 30 hours the next day.
The FIR was registered by Hemant Soren on January 31, two days after the search operations were conducted in Delhi.
Notably, the ED team, during its 13-hour search operation at Soren's Delhi residence on January 29 and 30, seized ₹36 lakh cash, a BMW car, and several "incriminating" documents in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land deal in Jharkhand.
Soren is currently under judicial custody in Birsa Munda Central Jail in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land scam, had challenged his arrest by ED in the Supreme Court, which asked him to appeal in the Jharkhand High Court first.
The former Jharkhand CM then moved to Jharkhand High Court seeking relief and challenged his arrest calling the ED action arbitrary. The High Court after hearing the arguments of both the parties has reserved its judgement in the case.
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