Jharkhand High Court on Friday granted bail to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in alleged land scam case. Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay ’s court granted him regular bail.
On June 13, after hearing the arguments of Mr. Soren’s advocate and Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju appearing for Enforcement Directorate (ED) the court had reserved its order.
The ED had arrested Mr. Soren on January 31, 2024 after questioning him for over seven hours. Mr. Soren then went to Raj Bhavan and resigned from the State’s top post. Following his resignation Champai Soren was elected as the leader of JMM legislative party and on February 5, the new Champai Soren government won the trust with 47 MLAs voting in favour of the motion.
The case is related to forging land documents of 8.86 acres in Badgai area of Ranchi.
Soon after the bail, formalities were completed by the lawyer of Mr. Soren and at around 4 p.m., he came out of the Birsa Munda Central Jail. Accompanied by his wife Kalpana Murmu Soren, he directly went to the residence of his father Shibu Soren to take his blessing.
Many of his supporters had reached there, carrying his photo and shouted slogans in his support — “Jail Ka Tala Tut Gaya, Hemant Soren Chut Gaya” (The Jail lock is broken and Hemant Soren is released)
“I am out of jail after five months. The five months’ time for the people of Jharkhand and tribals must be worrying. The entire nation knows for what reason I was sent to jail. However, finally the court has pronounced the judgement. I respect the court, but sometimes it troubles me the way the attempts are being made to suppress the voices of politicians, writers, journalists, social workers in a systematic way,“ Mr. Soren said while speaking to the media in Ranchi outside the residence of his father.
Mr. Soren asserted that he was put behind jail in false and concocted stories.
“Many people like me are in jail. Even the Delhi CM is in jail and to get justice, it takes a long time. People who are working in their field with honesty are being troubled. I will keep fighting for the cause of the people and the tribals. My release is the message not only for the State but for the country that a conspiracy was hatched against me,” Mr. Soren said.
Earlier, during the hearing of the bail plea, Mr. Soren’s lawyer Kapil Sibal had said in his argument that the case is civil. The land was described as Bhuinhari (non-saleable under Chota NagpurTenancy Act (CNT Act) and cannot be transferred so there was no money laundering in the case.
ED in its argument had said that Mr. Soren had taken the help of the officials to take possession of the land.
In the court order, which is in the possession of The Hindu, it says, “The overall conspectus of the case based on the broad probabilities does not specifically or indirectly assign the petitioner to be involved in the acquisition and possession as well as concealment of 8.86 acre of land connected to the “proceeds of crime”. None of the register/revenue records bare imprint of the direct involvement of the petitioner in the acquisition and possession of the said land.”
The court order further says, “The consequences of the findings recorded by this Court satisfies the condition as at Section 45 PMLA, 2002 to the effect that there is “reason to believe” that petitioner is not guilty of the offence as alleged.”
The timing of Mr. Soren’s release is also crucial as the State will witness an Assembly election later this year in November. Recently, his wife Kalpana Murmu Soren won the by-poll on Gandey Assembly seat.
Published - June 28, 2024 12:28 pm IST
