Ranchi. Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, who is in jail in the money laundering case related to the land scam, has now filed a bail petition in the Jharkhand High Court. Earlier on May 22, he had withdrawn the petition challenging the ED action and arrest after the permission of the Supreme Court. In this case, the Special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Court of Ranchi rejected Hemant Soren’s bail petition on May 13.
In the bail plea filed on behalf of Soren, it is said that ED does not have a single document related to the 8.86 acres of land on which it has taken action against him accusing him of encroachment. This is land of Bhuinhari nature under CNT (Chhotanagpur Tenancy Act) of Jharkhand, which cannot be transferred in the name of any person under any circumstances. It is also said in the plea that illegal possession of land does not constitute a case of scheduled offence under PMLA.
However, the date of hearing on this petition of Soren has not been decided yet. Let us tell you that in this case, Soren had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the action and arrest of ED. On 21-22 May, the vacation bench of the Supreme Court heard this petition. During the hearing, the court expressed displeasure over the fact that the petition filed by Soren hid the fact that the ED Special Court has taken cognizance against him in the money laundering case. After this, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared in the court on behalf of Soren, sought permission to withdraw the petition.
Let us tell you that on 31 January, ED arrested Hemant Soren and sent him to jail in connection with illegal occupation of 8.66 acres of land in Bargain region and money laundering. On 30 March, ED filed a chargesheet in the court against Hemant Soren, original landowner Rajkumar Pahan, Hemant Soren’s close aide Vinod Kumar, Revenue Sub Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad and Hilarius Kachhap. It states that Hemant Soren not only acquired the land illegally, but also tried to destroy the evidence when the investigation began.
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