Jharkhand's Chief Minister-elect Hemant Soren faced a legal setback on Tuesday after the MP-MLA Special Court in Ranchi rejected his request for exemption from personal appearance in a case related to alleged non-compliance of summonses issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Soren had filed a petition on July 5, seeking relief from personal appearance during hearings in a complaint filed by the ED, which accused him of contempt for disregarding multiple summonses.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Special Judge Sarthak Sharma had reserved the decision on November 11. On Tuesday, the court rejected Soren's plea, requiring his personal appearance and scheduled the next hearing for December 4.
The ED claims that Soren failed to comply with ten summonses sent between August 2023 and January 2024 in connection with a land scam linked to Ranchi's Bargain zone.
The agency alleged that Soren attended only two summonses, which constitutes a violation under Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The case originated with a complaint filed by the ED in the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court on February 19. After cognisance was taken on March 4, the matter was transferred to the MP-MLA Special Court.
The ED's investigation centres on allegations of money laundering in the alleged land scam, with the first summons issued on August 14, 2023. Subsequent summonses were sent on August 19, September 1, September 17, September 26, December 11, and December 29 in 2023, followed by January 13, January 22, and January 27 in 2024. Soren was interrogated following the tenth summons on January 31, leading to his arrest.
This latest development intensifies the legal challenges faced by the Jharkhand CM-elect amid the ongoing ED probe.
Meanwhile, Hemant Soren, after the decisive victory in Assembly elections, is set to take oath as Chief Minister on November 28.
The swearing-in ceremony is expected to see a gathering of prominent INDIA bloc leaders including Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Tejashwi Yadav, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal to name a few.
(With inputs from IANS)
