In a big relief for the Jharkhand Chief Minister, the Supreme Court on Monday upheld bail granted to Hemant Soren by the Jharkhand High Court in a money laundering case and rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s plea challenging the order.
In its plea, the ED had argued that if the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief
was released on bail, he might commit a similar offence.
Rejecting the petition, the apex court said that the “high court passed a well-reasoned order” and dismissed the ED plea. “We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order,” the court said.
Soren’s lawyer had argued strongly for his bail, contending he was falsely implicated in a criminal case by the central agency.
Hemant Soren had resigned as CM shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case. After coming out of jail on bail, he took oath as the CM of Jharkhand on July 4.