Supreme Court seeks Enforcement Directorate’s reply to plea by Hemant Soren against arrest

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate seeking its reply to a petition filed by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren challenging his arrest by the agency on charges of money laundering in a land scam case, Live Law reported.

Soren has been in jail since January 31, when he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case. This was shortly after he resigned as the chief minister after being questioned by the central law enforcement agency in the matter.

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that a “racket of land mafia” in Jharkhand was involved in tampering with official records in Ranchi and Kolkata. Some of the land acquired through the forgery was in Soren’s illegal possession, the agency has alleged.

The former Jharkhand chief minister has approached the Supreme Court, questioning the High Court’s delay in pronouncing its judgement in his bail plea.

On Monday, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Soren, denied the central agency’s allegations that his client was in possession of the land.

When the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta Khanna asked Sibal whether he wanted the matter to be posted for hearing in July or during vacations, which start on May 18, the senior advocate requested that the hearing take place on May 17, citing...

Read more