RANCHI: A major relief to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday put a stay on the decision of the MP-MLA court, which, had been asked him to appear before it on December 4 in connection with a case related to disobeying summons issued by Enforcement Directorate (ED). Soren had approached Jharkhand HC against Ranchi court’s order asking for his appearance. The court has now fixed December 16 for the next hearing in this case.Meanwhile, the Special MP-MLA Court on November 25 rejected Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s petition seeking exemption from personal appearance in a complaint case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Soren has been directed to appear before the court on December 4, 2024.The case revolves around allegations of Soren disobeying ED summons in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a land scam. The complaint, filed on February 20, 2024, under Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), alleged that Soren failed to comply with summons issued by the ED. Initially filed in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court, the case was transferred to the MP-MLA court on June 3, 2024.Taking cognisance of the case on March 4, 2024, the court observed that there was prima facie evidence of Soren’s disobedience to the summons. The ED stated that it had issued 10 summons to Soren since August 2023, but he appeared only twice—on January 20 and January 31, 2024. The first summon was issued in August 2023, asking him to appear on August 14. Despite repeated summons, Soren failed to appear on eight occasions.After skipping the summons for the eighth time, Soren eventually agreed to join the investigation and was questioned by the ED for over seven hours at his residence in Ranchi on January 20, 2024. Subsequently, the ED sent another letter on January 27, 2024, requesting Soren to decide on a time and place for questioning between January 29 and 31. It warned that if no response was received, officials would visit his official residence.Soren agreed to a second round of questioning and appeared before the ED on January 31, 2024. However, before this, he allegedly duped officials by disappearing from his Delhi residence on January 29. He remained untraceable for 40 hours before reappearing in Ranchi on January 31, the day of his arrest.The court’s decision to reject Soren’s petition for exemption underscores the gravity of the allegations against him. The outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings will determine the next course of action in the high-profile case.
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