The Aryavarth Express
Agency (New Delhi): The Supreme Court on Wednesday criticized jailed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for “suppressing material facts” in his plea against arrest in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. The vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Soren’s counsel, Kapil Sibal, to withdraw the plea for interim bail for Lok Sabha poll campaigning and against his arrest after indicating that it would dismiss them due to Soren’s lack of transparency.
The court noted that Soren failed to inform it of the April 4 order by the special PMLA court taking cognizance of the prosecution complaint and that his regular bail petition, filed on April 15, was dismissed on May 13. The bench expressed doubts about Soren’s bona fides, stating, “We have doubts that your client (Soren) was acting in a bonafide manner. This is not the way you try to come before the court, without disclosing material facts.”
Sibal admitted his “mistake” but claimed there was no intention to mislead the court, insisting that Soren had no role in the oversight. However, the court remained unconvinced, stressing the expectation of candour from Soren given his position of trust.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) previously told the Supreme Court that Soren’s arrest on January 31 was upheld by the Jharkhand High Court, and his regular bail application was dismissed by the trial court on May 13. Soren had referred to the interim bail granted to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a similar case, seeking identical relief.
Sibal attempted to defend Soren, arguing that the fault was his and not his client’s. The bench, however, emphasized that Soren’s conduct was not without blemish and advised Sibal to pursue other remedies. Sensing the court’s stance, Sibal chose to withdraw the appeal to avoid further damage.
The court highlighted that Soren’s plea lacked full disclosure of facts, including the April 4 cognizance order and the filing of the regular bail application. The bench allowed Soren to seek bail before the high court.
The ED has accused Soren of generating “huge amounts of proceeds of crime” through manipulation of official records and acquiring large parcels of land using forged documents. The case involves an 8.86-acre plot of land in Ranchi that the ED alleges was illegally acquired by Soren. He is currently lodged in Ranchi’s Birsa Munda Central Jail.