A bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M Trivedi granted Soren liberty to approach the Jharkhand High Court for relief in the matter.
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s plea against summoning the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an alleged money laundering case.
A bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela M Trivedi granted Soren liberty to approach the Jharkhand High Court for relief in the matter.
Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi told the court that it was a witch hunt.
“Mr Rohatgi, why don’t you go to the High Court? No no, go to the high court. We will allow you to withdraw,” the bench said. The case was dismissed as withdrawn.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, submitted that the issue is covered by a large number of judgments.
Soren moved the apex court challenging the summons sent to him to depose at the federal agency’s office in Ranchi on August 14 and record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Earlier, Soren had ignored the Director General’s summons in an alleged defense land scam case, citing pre-planned events.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, 48, was questioned for over nine hours by the ED on November 17 last year in connection with another money laundering case linked to allegations of exploitation illegal mining in the state.
The central investigative agency is probing more than a dozen land deals, including one linked to military land, in which a group of mafiosi, middlemen and bureaucrats allegedly collaborated to falsify deeds and documents dating back to 1932.
So far, the ED has arrested several people in the state, including Soren’s political aide Pankaj Mishra.
Soren was initially summoned by the ED on November 3, 2022, but he failed to appear citing official commitments. He had even challenged the central investigating agency to arrest him and subsequently sought a three-week stay on the summons.
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