New Delhi, July 29 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s appeal challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s decision to grant bail to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
A bench comprising Justice B R Gavai and Justice K V Viswanathan while refusing to entertain the ED’s appeal said that the judgment passed by the High Court on June 28 is very well reasoned and has given sufficient grounds for granting bail to Soren.
Justice Gavai said, “In our opinion, it is a very well-reasoned order.”
Soren was arrested by ED on January 31, 2024, in a case related to money laundering charges in connection with an illegal mining case, as well as an alleged land scam in Ranchi.
The ED after investigating both the cases contended that approximately 8.5 acres of property in question constitutes proceeds of crime.
The probe agency alleged that Soren had direct involvement in the acquisition, possession, and utilization of these proceeds, and he allegedly had a collusion with others, including Bhanu Pratap Prasad, in concealing original records to portray the acquired property as untainted.
Earlier, Soren had approached the Supreme Court for interim bail, but his plea was dismissed.
He again approached the top court during summer break, and a vacation bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the petition as withdrawn, remarking that he had not disclosed facts relating to the Special Court taking cognizance of the complaint filed by ED.
Soren then approached the Jharkhand High Court for bail. After hearing the parties and perusing the record, the High Court granted bail to Soren, observing that there was no evidence directly linking him to the possession of the land in question.
The High Court also said that the twin conditions under Section 45 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) were satisfied and thus Soren had to be released.
Section 45 of the Act states that an accused can be granted bail if there is prima facie satisfaction that the accused has not committed the offence and that he is not likely to commit any offence while on bail.
The High Court noted that Soren’s name or his family members’ names were not found in the numerous registers and revenue records recovered from accused Bhanu Pratap Prasad’s premises.
Subsequently, the ED approached the Supreme Court against the High Court order and took objection to the High Court’s disbelieving witness statements recorded by the probe agency.
