In a setback for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the High Court has permitted the trial to advance in a case concerning the defiance of summonses by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged land scam. Justice Anil Kumar Choudhary, on a single-judge Bench, rejected Soren’s plea to halt the proceedings before the MP-MLA special court. However, Soren has been excused from appearing in person before the court.
The MP-MLA court initiated legal proceedings based on a complaint lodged by the ED. Chief Minister Soren had contested this move, seeking the dismissal of the case through the High Court. The ED had lodged its complaint with the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in February 2024, alleging Soren’s repeated failure to comply with summonses related to the alleged land scam in Ranchi’s Bargain circle.
According to the ED, a series of summonses were issued starting from August 14, 2023, up to January 27, 2024, with Soren appearing in person only twice despite ten summonses being issued. The ED asserts that this non-compliance constitutes violations under Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
After the CJM court acknowledged the complaint on March 4, 2024, the case was transferred to the MP-MLA special court. Soren, challenging the acknowledgment, argued before the High Court that he had provided written responses to the ED for the summonses he missed and had appeared upon receiving fresh notices after the earlier summonses had lapsed. He further alleged that the agency had unnecessarily issued repeated summonses with malicious intent.
