The Jharkhand High Court on Friday dismissed the criminal writ petition filed by former Chief Minister Hemant Soren challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The court also rejected his provisional bail petition but permitted him to attend his uncle’s Shraddh program under police custody on May 6. Former Jharkhand CM is instructed to refrain from media interaction. The court had reserved the order on February 28. His bail plea was heard in the special court of the ED on Thursday.
Special Judge of PMLA Court Rajeev Ranjan presided over the proceedings, where both parties presented over the proceedings, where both parties presented their arguments. After a debate lasting about an hour between Soren’s legal counsel, led by Kapil Sibal, and the lawyers representing the ED, the judge reserved his decision. He instructed both sides to submit their written replies by May 4.
Heman Soren was arrested on January 31, after he submitted his resignation to Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan.
The ED had been investigating various cases in Jharkhand, including illegal mining, an alleged MGNREGA scam from 2009, and the illegal sale and purchase of an Army plot in Ranchi. It was during the investigation into the Army land case that the name of Bhanu Pratap Prasad, then revenue sub-inspector of Bargaain Circle Office, surfaced him to Soren.
The ED had alleged that Prasad was part of a syndicate involved in acquiring properties illegally, using force, and falsifying government records. The agency claimed that Prasad owned several original registers containing falsified land records, leading to his arrest and subsequent investigation.
During searches conducted on April 13, the ED seized 11 trucks of property documents and 17 Panki 2 registers from Prasad. This led to the registration of an FIR on June 1, which ultimately led to Soren’s arrest.