Hemant Soren
PTI
Hemant Soren was sworn in as Jharkhand's chief minister again after winning the trust vote in the state assembly on July 8, just in time to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls.
Now, an even tougher challenge stands before him — the state assembly elections. While out on interim bail, the ED charges still hang over his head and his political future lies between the electorate's ballot and the judge's gavel.
Here is a quick primer on the money laundering charges Soren faces related to an alleged land racket in the state capital.
The Enforcement Directorate had arrested Soren under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 on January 31 for his alleged involvement in the land scam. He had resigned as Chief Minister of the state a day before. He was given interim bail by the Jharkhand High Court but this order was challenged by the ED before the Supreme Court.
However, on July 29, the Supreme Court dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) plea.
The federal agency in its arguments claimed to have recovered Rs 36 lakh in cash and documents related to the investigation, alleging that Soren had acquired 8.5 acres of land through fraudulent means. The investigation revealed that a syndicate, including Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, was involved in corrupt property acquisitions.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Soren, had argued that the land scam was 'fabricated' to arrest Soren. He pointed out that the persons responsible for the illegally mutation of the land were being presented as witnesses instead of the accused. He also argued that 'anybody' could claim that Soren had taken illegal possession of the land and the ED had no evidence to support their accusation.
The case, however, has not been dismissed and Soren is yet to prove his innocence in the PMLA case.
(With agencies inputs)
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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