The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the Jharkhand State police filed false cases under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against its officers at the behest of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. This action was allegedly taken to hinder the money laundering investigation against Soren, according to the ED’s affidavit in the case [Hemant Soren v. Directorate of Enforcement and Anr].
The ED argued that such misuse of state machinery disqualifies the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader from being granted interim bail. “The petitioner is not entitled to seek interim bail as he has filed false cases against ED investigators under the SC/ST Act to obstruct the PMLA investigation. If granted interim bail, he is likely to misuse state machinery to thwart further investigation, influence witnesses, and tamper with evidence,” the affidavit stated.
The affidavit also noted that no action was taken by the Jharkhand government against the officials implicated in the money laundering case, despite the ED sharing relevant information. “There is evidence suggesting that these individuals are being shielded by the accused-petitioner, who was the then Chief Minister of Jharkhand and continues to have significant influence over the administration. The petitioner has committed money laundering offenses and is involved in criminal activities related to the proceeds of crime. Therefore, no case for interim bail can be made under the strict conditions of Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” the ED contended, with the affidavit prepared by advocate Zoheb Hossain.
The ED further argued that since Soren’s plea for bail was dismissed by a special court and has not been challenged in the current proceedings, he cannot seek interim bail directly from the Supreme Court.
A vacation bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma is set to hear the case later today.
The ED has charged Soren in connection with a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand. A prosecution complaint was filed on June 23, 2016, under Section 45 of the PMLA against Soren, ten others, and three companies. Over a dozen people, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, have been arrested in the case. Ranjan served as Director of the State’s Social Welfare Department and Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi.
Soren’s statement was recorded by the ED under the PMLA on January 20 of this year. He was subsequently arrested and resigned as Chief Minister on January 31 following his arrest. He has denied the money laundering allegations, claiming in a video released before his detention that he was being arrested based on “fake papers” as part of a conspiracy.
His plea challenging the arrest was dismissed by the Jharkhand High Court on May 3. Soren has since appealed to the Supreme Court. On May 13, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the ED regarding Soren’s challenge to the High Court’s decision and requested a brief reply from the ED on his request for interim bail.
