Ranchi: A Special Ranchi-based PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Court on Monday rejected the regular bail plea of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, who is lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in a money laundering case related to the alleged land scam.
This petition was heard on 1 May when Special Judge Rajeev Ranjan reserved the judgment by directing both the parties to file written replies by May 4.
During the hearing, senior Supreme Court advocate Kapil Sibal presented arguments on behalf of Hemant Soren through video conferencing. Sibal claimed that no evidence has been presented in the charge sheet filed by ED against Hemant Soren, so a case of scheduled offense is not made out against him. Sibal said his client has been implicated in a “politically motivated” case while urging the court to grant him regular bail.
However, advocate Zoeb Hussain appearing on behalf of the ED, had opposed the demand for bail and said that Hemant Soren is an influential person and if he gets bail, he could influence the witnesses. The documents that ED has presented in the court clearly indicate his direct involvement in the land scam, Hussain said.
On January 31, ED had arrested Hemant Soren and sent him to jail in a case related to illegal occupation of 8.66 acres of land in Badagain area of Ranchi and money laundering. The ED has also filed a charge sheet in the court on March 30 against the original owner of the land, Rajkumar Pahan, Hemant Soren's close aide Vinod Kumar, Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad and Hilarius Kachhap.
The ED has claimed that Hemant Soren not only acquired the land illegally but also tried to destroy the evidence when the investigation started. Hemant Soren had filed a bail petition for the first time two and a half months after his arrest.
