Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren denied interim bail

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was denied interim bail on Saturday by a
special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ranchi in connection with a land scam case.

The Chief Minister had requested a 13-day interim bail from the court to attend the funeral of his uncle, Raja Ram Soren, who passed away earlier that day.

Raja Ram Soren was the elder brother of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren.

On Wednesday, Ex-CM Soren approached the Supreme Court seeking relief in a money laundering case.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Hemant Soren, brought up his plea contesting his arrest before a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna.

Sibal informed the bench that the Jharkhand High Court had reserved its decision on Soren’s petition challenging his arrest towards the end of February, but the verdict had not been pronounced yet.

He additionally requested an urgent hearing, citing the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Soren informed the bench that by the time the election concluded, he would still be in jail.

Hemant Soren was detained by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in January this year in connection with the land scam case.

The investigation focuses on substantial amounts of proceeds of crime generated through the falsification of official records, involving the use of ‘fake sellers’ and purchasers through forged or bogus documents to acquire extensive parcels of land valued in crores.