The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday stayed criminal proceedings initiated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Hemant Soren over alleged wilful disobedience of summons issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The matter was heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, which issued notice to the ED on Soren’s plea seeking quashing of the complaint case. In his petition, the Jharkhand Chief Minister also challenged repeated summons issued by the central agency in connection with an alleged land scam.
During the hearing, the ED’s counsel argued that the trial was at an advanced stage and that seven summons had been issued to Soren, who allegedly failed to appear even once. However, Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Soren, told the court that his client had appeared before the agency three times and was subsequently arrested.
The ED further contended that Soren’s petition seeking quashing of the proceedings was filed belatedly, nearly a year after a magistrate court took cognisance of the complaint.
The Chief Justice orally remarked that the agency should focus its efforts on pursuing complaints effectively rather than filing numerous cases. Justice Bagchi also observed that the agency should concentrate on effective prosecution, noting that the purpose of certain proceedings had already been served.
Earlier, on January 15, the Jharkhand High Court had refused to quash the cognisance taken against Soren by a special MP-MLA court in the complaint filed by the ED, dealing a setback to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader.
The ED had initiated the complaint alleging that Soren failed to comply with the summons issued as part of its investigation into the alleged land scam. With the Supreme Court now staying the criminal proceedings, further action in the case will remain on hold pending the outcome of the hearing.
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