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Soren was summoned multiple times by ED before he was questioned at his residence and subsequently arrested on January 31 this year
A division bench of the Supreme Court has today dismissed the Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging bail granted to JMM leader Hemant Soren in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
Justices BR Gavai and KV Vishwanathan's bench noted that the High Court's order was a very well reasoned one.
"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order, however we clarify that the aforesaid observations shall not influence the trial judge. Since the observations made by the single judge of the High Court are with regard to grant of bail, they shall not influence the trial judge at the stage of trial or any other proceedings", the court ordered while dismissing the ED's case.
ASG SV Raju appeared for ED told the court today that Soren's arrest was upheld by the High Court's division bench with observations made in ED's favour.
"We don't want to observe anything more, if we observe you might be in difficulty..a very well reasoned judgment has been given by the learned single judge..", Justice Gavai said while refusing to hear the ASG anymore.
The Jharkhand High Court had on June 28 granted bail to Soren, who later on July 4 took oath as the chief minister of Jharkhand. Notably the JMM leader had resigned as chief minister shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case.
While granting him bail, a single judge bench of the high Court had said, "an overall conspectus of the case, there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing a similar nature of offence".
In May, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Soren challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a land scam case. Soren had moved the top court in an SLP against the Jharkhand High Court's May 3rd decision refusing him relief. Before the top court, he also sought interim bail to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections 2024.
Enforcement Directorate had informed the Supreme Court that Soren was arrested way before the dates for General Elections 2024 were even announced. "He was arrested long back before the elections..There is no question of interim bail..", a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta were told.
Soren had earlier challenged the BJP and the ED that if they could produce any record naming him as the owner of 8.5 acres of land in Ranchi, he would leave politics and the state itself.
Case Title: ED vs. Hemant Soren
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