Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was released from jail after being granted bail by the High Court in a land scam case this morning. His counsel, Arunabh Chowdhury, informed news agency PTI, “Bail is granted. The court held, prima facie, Hemant Soren is not guilty, and there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence on bail.” With no other cases against him at this time, Mr. Soren is expected to be released soon. Bail was granted upon payment of a bail bond of ₹50,000 and two sureties of the same amount each.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 on charges of money laundering. The ED accused him of orchestrating a scheme involving fictitious transactions and forged documents to acquire 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi worth crores.
In its order, the court stated that the “broad probabilities (of the case) do not specifically, or indirectly, assign the petitioner to be involved in the acquisition and possession, as well as concealment (of land).” The court noted that “none of the revenue records bare imprint of direct involvement of petitioner in acquisition and possession of said land,” and called the ED’s claim “ambiguous when considered against the backdrop of allegation the land was already acquired and possessed by petitioner… from year 2010 onwards.”
The court further reasoned that “there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing a similar nature of offence” and confirmed that the twin conditions for granting bail under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) had been satisfied.
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Mr. Soren has consistently denied the charges, accusing the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party of framing his arrest to disrupt the opposition just weeks before the Lok Sabha election.
Today’s bail order comes after a series of setbacks last month. Initially, the Ranchi special court denied Mr. Soren bail. Subsequently, the High Court rejected a plea to quash his arrest, citing “an abundance of documents that lay foundation for the arrest and remand of petitioner.” The court remarked that Mr. Soren could not “wiggle out of the mess he created for himself.”
Additionally, the Supreme Court refused interim bail, which Mr. Soren sought to campaign for his party and the Congress-led INDIA opposition bloc in the Lok Sabha polls.
