New Delhi, Feb 25 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim relief to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a case related to alleged non-compliance of summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
A division bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stayed the proceedings pending before the MP-MLA Special Court in Ranchi and issued a notice to the ED, seeking its response in the matter.
The case stems from a complaint filed by the ED on February 19, 2024, before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Ranchi, alleging that Soren failed to comply with multiple summonses issued to him in connection with a money laundering probe linked to a purported land scam in Ranchi’s Bargain area.
According to the ED, Soren was first summoned on August 14, 2023. Subsequent summonses were issued on August 19, September 1, September 17, September 26, December 11, and December 29 in 2023, and on January 13, January 22, and January 27 in 2024 -- taking the total number to ten.
The agency claimed that he appeared only twice, alleging a violation of Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code.
The CJM court took cognisance of the complaint on March 4, 2024, after which the case was transferred to the MP-MLA Special Court.
Soren challenged the order before the Jharkhand High Court, seeking the quashing of the proceedings. However, the High Court declined to interfere and directed that the trial would continue.
Subsequently, Soren approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s order. During Wednesday’s hearing, his counsel, advocate Pragya Singh Baghel, argued that the Chief Minister had submitted written responses to the summonses he could not attend and had appeared before the ED on later occasions. The complaint, it was contended, was malicious in nature.
The matter will now be heard after the ED files its response before the top court.
Source: IANS
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