Ranchi, September 28 (Daily Kiran) : Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has taken legal action against a ruling from a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court concerning a land fraud and money laundering case in Ranchi’s Badgai area. He filed a criminal writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court, contesting the court’s refusal to halt the charge framing process against him.
The High Court is scheduled to hear the petition regarding its maintainability on September 29. This hearing will take place before a bench led by Chief Justice M.S. Sonak and Justice Manoj Prasad.
Soren had previously requested the PMLA court to postpone the framing of charges until the Enforcement Directorate (ED) completes its investigation. However, the special court denied this request, prompting Soren to seek relief from the High Court.
In connection with the alleged illegal acquisition of 8.86 acres of disputed land in Badgai, Soren appeared before the PMLA court via video conferencing. During the hearing, he requested additional time for reviewing the case documents. The court noted that the current phase involved charge framing, not document inspection. Nevertheless, it scheduled the next hearing for September 30 at 11:15 AM to continue discussions on the charge framing.
The ED has already filed a charge sheet against Soren and approximately 18 other defendants in this case. The special PMLA court has previously framed charges against 16 additional accused, including former revenue officer Bhanu Pratap Prasad and architect Vinod Kumar Singh.
Recently, the Jharkhand High Court upheld the lower court’s decision to reject Soren’s discharge petition, clearing the way for the charge framing process to proceed.
Leave a Comment