Supreme Court Upholds Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s Bail

ED’s plea challenging Jharkhand High Court’s decision dismissed

The Supreme Court dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s plea against Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s bail in a money laundering case.

RANCHI – The Enforcement Directorate’s challenge to the parole of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case has been rejected by the Supreme Court.

The Jharkhand High Court’s decision to grant Soren regular bail was not interfered with by a division led by Justice B.R. Gavai.

On June 28, the high court had issued a parole order that included specific conditions.

The high court’s judgment was well-reasoned, as noted by Justice Gavai and Justice K.V. Viswanathan.

The bench clarified that the ongoing trial proceedings would not be impacted by the observations in the parole order.

On January 31, the ED apprehended Soren in conjunction with an alleged land scam.

He was released on bail after serving five months in detention.

Soren was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand for the third time on July 4, just one week after his parole.

The ED had submitted a special leave petition to the Supreme Court in order to request the cancellation of Soren’s parole.

Soren’s petition against his ED arrest was rejected by the apex court in May.

Soren had been criticized by the highest court for initiating "parallel proceedings" and failing to disclose all relevant information in his plea.

The Supreme Court had previously rejected Soren’s appeal, asserting that he did not approach the highest judicial forum with clean hands.

The court had raised significant concerns regarding the concealment of facts in Soren’s previous petition.