The Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday dismissed an important petition filed by Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in which he had challenged the cognisance taken by the MP-MLA Special Court in a case related to alleged non-compliance with summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Pronouncing its order, the High Court made it clear that it was not inclined to interfere in the matter at this stage. Consequently, the petition was rejected. The order was passed on January 15.
The Enforcement Directorate had issued a total of 10 summons to Chief Minister Hemant Soren during its investigation into an alleged land scam and the connected money laundering case.
While Soren appeared before the agency on only two occasions, the ED alleged that he deliberately ignored the remaining summons. Later, the ED in 2024 filed a complaint before the MP-MLA Special Court, seeking action under Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with non-compliance of legal summons.
Taking cognisance of the complaint, the MP-MLA court-initiated proceedings in the matter. Challenging this move, Soren approached the Jharkhand High Court, seeking to quash the cognisance order. However, the High Court has now dismissed his plea.
The Enforcement Directorate was represented by advocates Zoheb Hossain, A.K. Das, and Saurabh Kumar, who strongly argued the agency’s case before the court.
With the High Court refusing to intervene, the proceedings in the MP-MLA Special Court will now continue. The case is primarily linked to the alleged illegal acquisition of around 8.5 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain area and related money laundering charges.
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