A special PMLA court today granted one more week to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to respond to the bail petition of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The court scheduled May 1 as the next date of hearing in the matter.
Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in relation to a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Currently, Hemant Soren is in judicial custody and lodged at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
The investigation agency had sought another two weeks to file a reply to Hemant Soren’s bail petition, which was opposed by the former CM’s counsels. Hemant Soren’s counsel claimed that the ED wanted to deliberately delay the bail so that he could not come out of jail and campaign.
Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury represented Hemant Soren virtually. The PMLA court granted one week to the ED and directed no further adjournments.
Former CM Hemant Soren had on April 16 moved a bail petition before the special court, claiming that his arrest by the ED was politically motivated, and part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy to coerce him to join the BJP. The Special court had then fixed April 23 as the next date of hearing after the ED sought time to file a reply to it.
In his plea, Hemant Soren alleged that the action against him was a clear case of political vendetta and is a malicious prosecution by the central government by misusing the investigating agency, the Enforcement Directorate.
The former Chief Minister also stated that he is the working president of the JMM, which is a founding member of the INDIA bloc, and with the Lok Sabha elections beginning, he is actively required to campaign for his party and the alliance candidates.
The plea added that there is extreme urgency in the matter and if the petitioner is not released forthwith to participate in the election campaign, it would enable the central government to succeed in its sinister design to keep the petitioner away from the campaign trail and deny a level-playing field.