The Jharkhand High Court on Monday reserved its verdict on a petition lodged by former Chief Minister Hemant Soren who sought permission to attend the ongoing budget session of the Jharkhand assembly.
Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad was hearing the petition filed by Hemant Soren and argued by former Union minister and Supreme Court Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal. The proceedings were carried out in virtual mode.
While opening the case, Senior Advocate Kabil Sibal contended that Hemant Soren is a people’s representative and his presence in the assembly is required during the budget session. He argued that the former Chief Minister has not been charge-sheeted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) nor charges have been framed against him.
Countering Kapil Sibal’s arguments, Enforcement Directorate’s counsel and Additional Solicitor General of India, S V Raju, said that Hemant Soren has been detained in custody by the authority of law. He added that the Enforcement Directorate has enough and sufficient reasons for the detention of Hemant in custody. He further noted that there are several Supreme Court rulings in the matter which do not allow a public representative to participate in the House proceedings.
Reportedly, the budget session of the Jharkhand assembly commenced on February 23 and will conclude on March 2. The budget session will span for seven working days and is the last one for the current government before the state goes to polls.
On February 22 evening, Hemant Soren filed the petition before the High Court after his plea for appearing in the budget session of the assembly was rejected by the special court of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the Ranchi district court. The matter was especially mentioned before the High Court and was heard on February 23. During the hearing, the Enforcement Directorate sought time to file its response.
Hemant Soren’s petition was filed in the high court without the original order of the special judge of the PMLA court. In the absence of the order, the Jharkhand High Court had expressed its reluctance to hear the matter. Nonetheless, the order was later furnished before the High Court. The former Chief Minister was picked up by the Enforcement Directorate for his alleged involvement in a land scam running into several crores.