New Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday told the Supreme Court that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was trying to influence the investigation in the money laundering case against him by ‘misusing the state machinery’. The ED also opposed his ‘special request’ for grant of interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. The investigating agency argued in the court that a political leader cannot claim any special status more than an ordinary citizen.
The ED told the apex court that if Soren is granted interim bail for election campaigning, all jailed political leaders will demand equal treatment claiming that they come from ‘their own class’. A vacation bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta is scheduled to hear on Tuesday the plea against Soren’s arrest and his interim bail application.
Emphasizing that elections are held throughout the year in the country, the probe agency said if Soren’s request for ‘special treatment’ is accepted, no political leader can be arrested and judicial proceedings will be initiated. Cannot be kept in custody. The agency said Soren’s arrest on January 31 was upheld by the Jharkhand High Court and his regular bail plea was rejected by the trial court on May 13.
In its 285-page affidavit in the apex court on Soren’s plea against arrest and for interim bail, the investigating agency said the evidence on record establishes that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader had illegally acquired properties. Involves making and possessing proceeds of crime.
The agency said, “Several statements have been recorded under section of PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002), which establish that 8.86 acres of land was illegally acquired in Shanti Nagar near Lalu Khatal in Bariatu and it was acquired by Hemant Soren and this act was done in a secret manner.”
Opposing Soren’s interim bail plea for campaigning during the Lok Sabha elections, the ED said, “It is important to note that the right to campaign in elections is neither a fundamental right, nor a constitutional right or a legal right.” The investigating agency said Soren was trying to influence the investigation by misusing the state government machinery and “laundering the proceeds of crime through his henchmen”.
Describing the former chief minister as a ‘highly influential person’, the ED said he also resorted to filing false cases against officials under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to thwart the investigation.
The investigating agency said, “The petitioner will influence the witnesses coming forward and there is a serious possibility that he will threaten the witnesses in this case. Therefore, the request for interim bail is strongly opposed and should be rejected in the interest of investigation.” After Soren resigned from the post of Chief Minister of Jharkhand, he was arrested on January 31 in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
Tags: enforcement directorate, Hemant Soren, Supreme Court
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 20, 2024, 23:35 IST