ed-knocks-sc-doors-against-hemant-soren-s-bail-granted-by-hc

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the bail granted to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. 

Reports indicate that the ED filed a petition against the Jharkhand High Court's order on Monday, although the case has not yet been scheduled in the Supreme Court.

Sources reveal that the ED's application claims that the High Court's comments in its order were biased. The High Court had stated there was insufficient evidence to prove Soren's involvement in the alleged money laundering case, leading to his bail.

On June 28, the Jharkhand High Court granted Hemant Soren regular bail in a land scam case. This decision came after Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay reserved the order on June 13, following arguments from both sides.

Soren was in judicial custody since his arrest by the ED on January 31, connected to the alleged money laundering case tied to the land scam. After his interim bail plea was denied and he withdrew his petition from the Supreme Court, Soren sought regular bail from the Jharkhand High Court.

The ED has accused Soren of being the main beneficiary of the land scam, claiming he illegally occupied 8.86 acres of land in the Bargain area in Ranchi, amounting to money laundering under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. The ED argued that Soren could potentially misuse his influence to obstruct the investigation if released on bail.

The ED further alleged plans to construct a banquet hall on the disputed land, with a map sent to Soren's phone by Architect Vinod Singh.

In contrast, Soren’s defence argued that the case was politically motivated, claiming the central government was using the ED for a malicious prosecution. 

They stated that the banquet hall plans were unrelated to the 8.86 acres of land in question and emphasized that the investigation was still ongoing, urging the court to grant bail without delving into the case's details.

The ED is investigating significant proceeds of crime generated through falsified official records, involving fake sellers and buyers using forged documents to acquire valuable land. So far, the ED has provisionally attached land parcels worth Rs 266 crore and arrested 22 individuals, including IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Amit Kumar Agarwal, and Prem Prakash, about the money laundering case linked to the land scam.