Supreme Court Stays ED Trial Against Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren In Money Laundering Case

The bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi passed an interim order staying proceedings in Complaint Case No. 3952 of 2024 pending before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi.

The complaint had been filed by the ED alleging violation of summons issued under Section 50(4) of the PMLA, punishable under Section 63(4) of the Act read with Section 174 of the IPC.

The order was passed while issuing notice to the ED on Soren’s Special Leave Petition challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s refusal to quash the summoning order. The High Court had earlier held that whether Soren was required to appear personally in response to the summons was a question of fact to be determined during trial and declined to interfere.

During the hearing, ED’s counsel submitted that Soren failed to appear despite seven summonses being issued to him. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Soren, countered the allegation, stating, “He appeared thrice and you arrested him.”

The ED further argued that the quashing petition before the High Court had been filed belatedly, nearly a year after the Magistrate took cognisance of the complaint.

After staying the High Court’s order, the Chief Justice orally remarked to the ED: “Yesterday we were reading in the newspaper, you have filed bulk complaints. Concentrate and spend your energy on those complaints. You will have some constructive outcomes.” Justice Bagchi added that the focus should be on “effective prosecution,” observing that in certain serious cases, including terror prosecutions, the purpose of the process is already served.

The proceedings stem from a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. The ED had registered a case against an associate of Soren, from whom documents relating to 8.86 acres of land allegedly linked to the Chief Minister were recovered. During the investigation, summons were issued to Soren to appear and record his statement regarding the land transactions. The ED alleged that he failed to comply, thereby hampering the investigation of a serious offence.

Soren was eventually arrested on January 31, 2024. Subsequently, the ED filed a criminal complaint alleging wilful disobedience of summons. The Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ranchi, found a prima facie case under Section 174 IPC and issued process against him.

In a related news, the court had in July 2024, 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 had ordered while dismissing the ED's case.

In May 2024, 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.