Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday informed the Jharkhand High Court that former chief minister Hemant Soren had played a key role in illegally acquiring land in Bargains in the capital.
Arguing on behalf of the ED, his lawyer SV Raju said Soren had acquired the land in 2009-10 and a boundary wall was constructed to secure his possession.
Soren, who is also the working president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, had filed a petition before the High Court on May 27, seeking bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged land scam. The court had asked ED to reply in this matter on June 12. The hearing will continue on Thursday also.
The ED counsel said that the federal agency had also conducted an independent survey of the land and when questioned, the caretaker told that the land belonged to Soren.
Besides this, the ED said it has also recovered several documents which show that land records were falsified in favor of Soren.Senior Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal had on Monday argued for granting bail to the former CM saying that the JMM leader has been falsely implicated in a criminal case by the ED.
Soren, arrested by the ED on January 31 in a money laundering case, had requested the High Court for an early hearing.
Sibal had earlier argued that Soren has been wrongly accused of grabbing the 8.86-acre plot in a bargain, and the act does not constitute an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, for which Soren has been jailed.
The ED has alleged that land documents were altered and the original land owners were forcibly evicted by Soren.
Sibal responded that the original landowners never complained or approached the authorities when their land was allegedly taken.He said this act of forced eviction was reported to have taken place in 2009-10, but the report was made only in 2023.
Sibal had argued that even if all the allegations against Soren were true, it would be a civil case of forced eviction and not a criminal case.
He had suggested that the criminal case was motivated by an ulterior motive to keep Soren behind bars. He further claimed that the ED tampered with evidence and created false documents to implicate Soren.
The original land owner Raj Kumar Pahan has already applied to restore the land in his name, which is being processed.Sibal had argued that the JMM leaders were victims of a political conspiracy and had been implicated without any evidence.
On 22 May, Soren did not get relief from the Supreme Court, which had criticized him for "suppressing important facts" in his petition against his arrest in a money laundering case.
A vacation bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Soren's lawyer Sibal to withdraw his plea for interim bail for the Lok Sabha election campaign and against his arrest, after the apex court had indicated that it would reject them. Will give because the JMM leader had not approached the court. With clean hands.
The Supreme Court said Soren did not inform it about the April 4 order of the special PMLA court taking cognizance of the prosecution's complaint and his regular bail plea filed on April 15 was rejected on May 13.
Arguing on behalf of the ED, his lawyer SV Raju said Soren had acquired the land in 2009-10 and a boundary wall was constructed to secure his possession.
Soren, who is also the working president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, had filed a petition before the High Court on May 27, seeking bail in a money laundering case related to the alleged land scam. The court had asked ED to reply in this matter on June 12. The hearing will continue on Thursday also.
The ED counsel said that the federal agency had also conducted an independent survey of the land and when questioned, the caretaker told that the land belonged to Soren.
Besides this, the ED said it has also recovered several documents which show that land records were falsified in favor of Soren.Senior Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal had on Monday argued for granting bail to the former CM saying that the JMM leader has been falsely implicated in a criminal case by the ED.
Soren, arrested by the ED on January 31 in a money laundering case, had requested the High Court for an early hearing.
Sibal had earlier argued that Soren has been wrongly accused of grabbing the 8.86-acre plot in a bargain, and the act does not constitute an offense under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, for which Soren has been jailed.
The ED has alleged that land documents were altered and the original land owners were forcibly evicted by Soren.
Sibal responded that the original landowners never complained or approached the authorities when their land was allegedly taken.He said this act of forced eviction was reported to have taken place in 2009-10, but the report was made only in 2023.
Sibal had argued that even if all the allegations against Soren were true, it would be a civil case of forced eviction and not a criminal case.
He had suggested that the criminal case was motivated by an ulterior motive to keep Soren behind bars. He further claimed that the ED tampered with evidence and created false documents to implicate Soren.
The original land owner Raj Kumar Pahan has already applied to restore the land in his name, which is being processed.Sibal had argued that the JMM leaders were victims of a political conspiracy and had been implicated without any evidence.
On 22 May, Soren did not get relief from the Supreme Court, which had criticized him for "suppressing important facts" in his petition against his arrest in a money laundering case.
A vacation bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma allowed Soren's lawyer Sibal to withdraw his plea for interim bail for the Lok Sabha election campaign and against his arrest, after the apex court had indicated that it would reject them. Will give because the JMM leader had not approached the court. With clean hands.
The Supreme Court said Soren did not inform it about the April 4 order of the special PMLA court taking cognizance of the prosecution's complaint and his regular bail plea filed on April 15 was rejected on May 13.
