The Jharkhand High Court on Monday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit its reply by February 9 regarding the arrest of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is currently in ED custody facing allegations of money laundering.
The court heard a plea filed by Soren challenging his arrest by the probe agency on January 31, with the next hearing scheduled for February 12, ANI reported.
After seven hours of questioning, Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, was arrested by the ED in connection to a money laundering case linked to an alleged ‘land’ scam. Subsequently, JMM leader Champai Soren took oath as the next Chief Minister of the state on Friday afternoon.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Hemant Soren participated in the floor test of the Champai Soren-led government in the state assembly in Ranchi, aiming to prove his majority and form the government. The two-day special Jharkhand session began at 11 in the morning today, with the newly formed Champai Soren-led coalition government scheduled to seek a trust vote.
Also Read:PMLA court allows Hemant Soren to participate in trust vote in Jharkhand assembly on Feb 5
In the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha holds 29 seats, supported by its ally Congress with 17 seats, and the RJD and the CPI (ML) each having 1 seat. With a combined strength of 43 MLAs, the INDIA bloc is well-positioned to pass the floor test, surpassing the majority mark of 41.
The INDIA bloc MLAs, who had relocated to Telangana amid concerns of alleged ‘poaching’ by the BJP, returned on Sunday evening in preparation for the upcoming floor test.
Also Read:Supreme Court refuses to hear plea by Hemant Soren, asks ex-Jharkhand CM to move High Court
On Friday, the Supreme Court refused to hear Hemant Soren’s plea, leading the case to be taken up by the Jharkhand High Court. The top court declined, stating that it is not “inclined to entertain” the petition and instructed Soren to move the concerned High Court for relief.
The case revolves around an alleged illegal possession of certain immovable assets and purported links with members of the ‘land mafia’. The central agency alleges “huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/ bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores”.
According to the ED, the investigation in the case is connected to a “large-scale racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in the state.