Title: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Faces Impending Non-Bailable Warrant as ED Investigates Land Mining Scam
Date: [Insert Date]
By: Pierre Herubel
Image Source: News18.com
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren may face a non-bailable warrant if he fails to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 23. The ED is investigating a land mining case and alleged illegal possession of land parcels in Ranchi, for which Soren has been summoned five times. A senior source at the agency revealed that Soren had previously skipped three consecutive summons, making the issuance of a non-bailable warrant a possibility.
Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) rules, the ED has the authority to issue a non-bailable warrant if an accused or someone under investigation fails to comply with three consecutive summons.
Soren had sought relief from the Supreme Court last month, but his plea was rejected and he was directed to appeal before the High Court. As per the Supreme Court’s direction, Soren withdrew his petition and is expected to approach the High Court. The Jharkhand CM’s party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), confirmed that they will follow the Supreme Court’s order.
Over the past six months, Soren has been summoned by the ED four times in relation to alleged land and stone mining scams. While he honored one of the summons, he skipped the others and filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the investigation. In his petition, Soren claimed to be targeted for his opposition alliance and non-alignment with the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), and requested the quashing of the ED summons.
Explaining the delay in initiating the process for a non-bailable warrant, a senior ED officer stated that they had been waiting for the Supreme Court’s direction, which was ultimately denied. The officer further emphasized that if Soren chooses not to appear before the ED on September 23, the agency will commence the process to issue a non-bailable warrant against him.
Hemant Soren is currently facing money laundering charges in connection with two cases being investigated by the ED under sections of the PMLA. The charges and cases filed against Soren have been deemed “baseless and devoid of merit” by Jharkhand government’s advocate general, Rajiv Ranjan. Ranjan added that the Chief Minister had already submitted all relevant documents to the agency and raised concerns about repeated summoning, stating that it goes against the federal structure.
The cases involve alleged stone mining and fraudulent land deed activities, with potential detected political associations. These details were first reported by News18 last month.
Following the Supreme Court’s rejection of Soren’s plea, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stated that the JMM leader would not be able to evade the ED and other central agencies for long, emphasizing the need for him to face the probe into serious corruption charges.
As the ED proceeds with its investigation into the land mining scam, the development surrounding the non-bailable warrant against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren continues to unfold. Stay tuned for further updates on this ongoing case.
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