RANCHI: A special court in Ranchi on Wednesday, September 30, framed charges against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money-laundering case over the alleged illegal acquisition of 8.86 acres of land in the city's Bargain area. On the same day, the Jharkhand High Court refused to give him relief in a related petition.
Framing charges means the court has found enough material for the case to go to trial. It is not a finding of guilt, and Soren has denied the allegations.
Special Judge Yogesh Kumar of the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court framed charges against all 17 accused named by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), including the Chief Minister, ETV Bharat reported. Soren was the last of them to be charged, according to The NewsMill.
Appearing by video conference, Soren told the court that all the allegations were false and that he was innocent, ETV Bharat reported. The NewsMill said he called the charges baseless.
The ED alleges that Soren did not cooperate with the investigation and tried to influence it, and says it has found information about further assets, according to ETV Bharat. Soren was arrested in the case on January 31, 2024. He was represented by advocate Sanjeev Sahay.
Reports differ on the next date in the trial. ETV Bharat reported that the court will sit next on October 28, when the prosecution is to present its witnesses; The NewsMill reported that the trial will resume on November 30.
Soren's lawyers have also filed a petition challenging Section 44(d) of the law as constitutionally unreasonable, The NewsMill reported.
It was Soren's second setback in the High Court in a fortnight. On September 19, a single-judge bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad rejected his plea to stay the proceedings before the special court, Asianet Newsable reported. In that petition Soren challenged the special court's June decision rejecting his application for discharge, arguing that he could not be tried without prior sanction from the Governor to prosecute him as a public servant. The bench observed that the protection of government sanction is meant to shield public servants doing genuine official work from harassment, and cannot be used as a blanket shield against criminal allegations. The main petition was listed for October 14.
In a separate petition, Soren had challenged the special court's order of September 21, which refused to put the framing of charges on hold until the ED completed its investigation. A division bench of Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Manoj Prasad refused him any relief on Wednesday, Social News XYZ reported.
The bench asked the ED to file a supplementary affidavit setting out its position on whether the petition can be heard, and to give copies to the other parties by October 20. The next hearing is on October 28, when the court will consider the affidavit and continue with the petition.
Senior advocate S. Nagamuthu appeared for Soren. The ED was represented by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, senior advocate Amit Kumar Das and advocate Saurabh Kumar, who joined by video conference.
The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha stood by the Chief Minister. Party leader Manoj Pandey said: "It is a false case; it is a fabricated case," and said he was confident Soren would be acquitted, The NewsMill reported.
The opposition BJP demanded that he step down. Party spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo said the Chief Minister "should immediately resign and face the trial".
The case is about alleged manipulation of land records and irregular land transactions in the Bargain revenue circle of Ranchi, and the alleged laundering of the proceeds, according to the reports.
