The Supreme Court has decided to postpone the hearing of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's plea against the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) summons until September 18. This development came after it was revealed that senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi would represent Soren in the case. A junior counsel made the request to have the matter heard on Monday, and the bench, consisting of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi, accepted this submission.
Soren had challenged the summons issued to him to appear at the ED's office in Ranchi on August 14 and provide a statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. He had previously missed an ED summons in connection with an alleged defense land scam case, citing prior commitments, PTI reported.
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In the past, the 48-year-old leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha faced a lengthy interrogation by the ED on November 17 the previous year regarding another money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state. The ED is currently investigating multiple land deals, including one involving defense land, where a group of individuals, including mafia members, middlemen, and bureaucrats, are alleged to have colluded to falsify deeds and documents dating back to 1932.
Notably, the ED has already made several arrests in Jharkhand, including Soren's political aide Pankaj Mishra. Soren had initially been summoned by the ED on November 3, 2022, but he failed to appear, citing official commitments. He subsequently challenged the agency to arrest him and later requested a three-week deferral of the summons.
