Hemant Soren gets no relief from Jharkhand HC in petition challenging ED action

The Jharkhand high court on Monday refused to grant any relief to former chief minister Hemant Soren in a petition filed by him challenging the Enforcement Directorate (ED)’s action against him before he was arrested. The court has sought a reply from ED and fixed the next hearing on February 12.

A lawyer familiar with the matter said, “Hearing on the criminal case of former chief minister Hemant Soren was held in Jharkhand high court on Monday. Hemant Soren did not get any relief. The bench of acting chief justice of the high court, justice S Chandrashekhar and justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary has sought a reply from the ED. The court has directed ED to file its reply by February 9. After this the court fixed February 12 for the next hearing.”

Soren had filed a petition in the high court challenging the summons given to him by ED and said that the agency was abusing its powers. He said ED officials were accusing him of not cooperating in the investigation and wanted to arrest him on this basis. Citing a Supreme Court ruling, he said that the investigating agency officers cannot arrest anyone for not cooperating in the investigation.

Soren was arrested by ED over money laundering charges on January 31.

Soren’s advocate in the Jharkhand high court, Piyush Chitresh, said, “Before the court fixed the next date of hearing on February 12, we withdrew the application filed for withdrawal of petition and filed an interlocutory application (IA), stating the latest development and seeking a proper direction in the matter.”