On Tuesday, the Apex Court adjourned former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. A vacation Bench of Justice Dipankar Datta & Justice Satish Chandra Sharma will hear the matter again tomorrow i.e. on May 22.
Hemant Soren has also prayed for interim bail to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Jharkhand is scheduled to go to the polls on May 20, May 25, & June 1. He is seeking parity with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who was granted a similar relief by the Supreme Court on May 10 to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the polls. The AAP supremo was ordered to surrender on June 2.
During the proceedings, Justice Dipankar Datta enquired if the legality of the arrest could be examined at this stage even after the trial Court had applied its ‘judicial mind’ & refused bail saying that there is a prima facie case against Mr. Soren.
“You say arrest is illegal, so custody is illegal. You are challenging custody. But then the special Court takes cognisance. So the question we want to ask is if even after cognisance, can the arrest be called invalid. This needs an intense debate”, the Judge remarked addressing Mr. Sibal.
In response, the senior counsel clarified that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was challenging the arrest itself as illegal & was neither seeking bail nor quashing of the case.
The former CM was arrested on January 31 as part of the agency’s investigation into money laundering charges linked to a land grab case. He had resigned as the Jharkhand CM before his arrest naming party loyalist & state transport minister Champai Soren as his successor.
Earlier on May 20, the ED opposed Mr. Soren’s bail plea claiming that he is actively attempting to subvert the probe into the money laundering case against him by “misusing state machinery”.
Contending that a politician can claim no special status higher than that of an ordinary citizen, the federal probe agency told the apex Court that if Mr. Soren is granted interim bail for poll campaigning, then all incarcerated politicians would seek a similar treatment claiming that they are a “class of their own”.
On May 3, the Jharkhand High Court had dismissed Mr. Soren’s plea challenging his arrest by the central agency – two months after it reserved its verdict on February 28.
LIVE Updates
MAY 21, 2024 12:58
Supreme Court concludes hearing, posts the case for hearing tomorrow
SC lists the case for hearing tomorrow i.e. on May 22. The hearing concludes.
MAY 21, 2024 12:57
Can an arrest be called invalid even after the trial court has taken cognisance? Justice Datta says that the question needs ‘intense debate’
Addressing Mr Sibal, Justice Datta says –
“You say arrest is illegal, so custody is illegal. You are challenging custody. But then Special Court takes cognisance. So the question we want to ask is if even after cognisance, arrest can be called invalid? This needs an intense debate.”
ASG Raju asks the court to list the case after vacation. Opposing this Sibal says that Soren would have “lost everything” by that time.
[Jharkhand is scheduled to go to the polls on May 20, May 25, & June 1. ]
MAY 21, 2024 12:52
The arrest itself is illegal, the ED officer did not have enough ‘material in possession’ at the time of arrest: Sibal
Mr. Sibal says that the former Jharkhand CM had tried for bail earlier on the merits of the case.
[The current challenge in the Supreme Court is based on the argument that the arrest on January 31 was invalid as the ED officer did not have the “material in possession” to give him “reason to believe” that Soren was guilty under the PMLA. In short, at the time of arrest, the ED officer only alleged forcible possession against Soren, which is not a scheduled offence under PMLA.]
ASG Raju intervenes to say Mr. Sibal may be wrong in his argument.
MAY 21, 2024 12:42
I am challenging the arrest itself, not the trial Court’s order: Sibal
“Satisfy us that despite two orders of rejection of bail & cognisance order, the challenge to arrest will survive”, Justice Datta says addressing Mr. Sibal.
“I am not challenging cognisance, I am challenging the arrest itself. Whatever was in possession of the ED officer was not enough to arrest me”, the senior counsel argues.
Justice Datta asks whether this was not argued for bail, which was rejected by the trial Court.
MAY 21, 2024 12:41
What happens to the trial court order which has concluded that there is a prima facie commission of offence under the PMLA? Justice Datta asks
Mr. Sibal argues that the “proceeds of crime” as defined under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA have to arise from a scheduled offence.
“Anybody can say that this land belongs to Soren. There is no evidence the land belongs to him”, he says.
Addressing the senior counsel, Justice Datta asks – “What happens to the judicial order (trial court order) that there is a prima facie commission of offence under PMLA? “
MAY 21, 2024 12:34
Special court has already applied its judicial mind, & concluded that the evidence against Soren is satisfactory: Justice Datta
Justice Datta questions Mr. Sibal on the point that the Special Court has already applied its judicial mind to the evidence against Soren in the case & found them satisfactory.
To this, Mr. Sibal asks how can the Supreme Court not go into the question of a man’s freedom & the illegality of his arrest.
MAY 21, 2024 12:30
SC just needs to evaluate whether the ED had enough evidence to prove Soren’s guilt at the time of his arrest under Section 19 PMLA: Sibal
Mr. Sibal says all that the Court has to look at now is whether the ED investigating officer had material in its possession which would give him “reason to believe” that Soren was guilty of the offence under PMLA at the time of arrest on January 31.
“All the SC needs to look at is whether ED had evidence to prove Soren was guilty at the time of arrest under Section 19 of the PMLA. The Court does not have to look beyond the arrest. If the arrest is not valid or lawful, the subsequent orders would collapse”, he asserts.
[Section 19 of the PMLA requires the investigating officer to have “reasons to believe” from “materials in possession” that the person intended to be arrested is “guilty of the offence”. Mere suspicion of guilt is not enough for arrest. The officer should have material/evidence to prove his guilt. This criteria has to be objectively evaluated by the ED officer before going ahead with the arrest.]
MAY 21, 2024 12:25
Not asking for interim bail, Mr. Soren’s lawyer tells SC
Mr. Sibal argues that forcible possession of property is not a scheduled offence under the PMLA.
“The predicate offence is forgery. I am not involved in that”, he says.
Mr. Sibal further remarks – “I am not asking for bail”.
Justice Datta enquires – “The SLP in the Supreme Court is now in its final stage, can an interim relief be asked for now?”
MAY 21, 2024 12:18
Bail can be denied if developments have taken place after the filing of the writ petition challenging the arrest, Justice Datta asserts
Justice Datta says that if there have been subsequent developments after the filing of the writ petition challenging the arrest, the Court in its discretion can refuse to grant bail.
The judge points out that two developments took place subsequently – cognisance was taken by the Special Court & bail was applied for & rejected.
“Can a writ court invalidate the arrest now... Does it have the power?”, Justice Datta asks
MAY 21, 2024 12:13
Mr. Soren had tampered with evidence, the ED alleges
ASG SV Raju alleges that Mr. Soren had tampered with evidence pertaining to the land in question.
“After we issued notice, he contacted one of the land owners to reverse the situation. This amounted to tampering with evidence. There were 12 land owners on the land with a common boundary. Why a common boundary? All this was taken cognisance of by the special court”, the ASG says.
Justice Datta says a lot of water has flown under the bridge after the arrest, which is challenged here. Thereafter (following arrest), the bail was rejected & cognisance was taken.
MAY 21, 2024 12:09
ED differentiates Mr. Soren’s case from that of Mr. Kejriwal; opposes interim relief
ASG SV Raju protests & says this case is different from that of Kejriwal’s interim bail plea. Highlighting the differences, he contends –
1. The trial court had prima facie found material suggesting Soren had committed the offence & thus taken cognisance. The cognisance order has not been challenged.
2. The application for bail under Section 45 of the PMLA was filed & rejected.
3. The arrest of Soren was not done, as in Kejriwal’s case, days after the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha polls was imposed.
4. The arrest had to be quick. The ED was dealing with an influential person.
MAY 21, 2024 12:06
The bench found some merit in Soren’s interim bail plea that prompted it to hear it, Justice Datta says
Justice Datta says the earlier Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna & himself had found “something” in Mr. Soren’s petition, which prompted them to hear it, & in the process, consider his plea for interim bail.
MAY 21, 2024 11:57
Persons who illegally possessed the disputed land were made complainants instead of being arrayed as accused persons: Sibal
Addressing the central agency’s argument, Mr. Sibal argues further –
“ED says the timely seizure of the land records prevented Soren’s name from being added in the land register through he was already in illegal possession of the 8.86-acre property. ED basically recorded statements under Section 50 of PMLA of all the people who said the 8.86-acre property was in the possession of Soren. No evidence to show when it was illegally possessed, how & who came to possess it”.
Mr. Sibal further points out that those who illegally possessed the mutated land have been made complainants instead of being arrayed as accused persons.
Also Read: ED attaches ₹31-crore worth Ranchi land ‘belonging’ to Hemant Soren
ED attaches ₹31-crore worth Ranchi land ‘belonging’ to Hemant Soren
ED has attached land measuring 8.86 acre, allegedly owned by former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi
MAY 21, 2024 11:52
There is a large family tree of descendants, disputed land has nothing to do with me, Mr. Soren’s lawyer argues
Mr. Sibal reads the findings of the ED & says that the complaints had been filed by two individuals – Shyamlal Pahan & Baijnath Munda.
“The land was Bumihari, feudal estates. It was illegally mutated between 1976 & 1986 before me. The ED said the mutated lands were in the names of several persons but in the possession of Hemant Soren. This is so even though there is a large family tree of descendants. The ownership of the lands, even according to the ED, was a matter of civil dispute. The ED should have stopped there”, he argues.
ASG SV Raju intervenes & says that Mr. Sibal cannot say that the land is not disputed.
Justice Datta addresses the ASG & says that the Court will hear him subsequently.
MAY 21, 2024 11:42
The land in question has nothing to do with me, its owner is Mr. Rajkumar Pahan: Sibal
“The lease of the land is in the name of the owner, Rajkumar Pahan. Nothing to do with me. On April 20, 2023, the ED goes for a survey of the land”, Mr. Sibal says.
MAY 21, 2024 11:37
Mr Soren’s lawyer takes the Bench through the facts of the case
Mr Sibal is taking the Bench through the facts of the case.
“This relates to 8.86 acres of land which is tribal land under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act, 1908. It cannot be transferred. They were however possessed by non-tribal since 1986. I was four years old at the time. I could not have illegally occupied the land then. Allegations is that I grabbed the land between 2009-2010. Between 2009-10 & 2023, nobody complains”, he says.
At this point, ASG SV Raju intervenes to point out the case has been taken cognisance of by the trial Court.
Justice Dipankar Datta asks Mr. Raju to take his seat, & says this is going to take some time.
MAY 21, 2024 11:29
The hearing on Mr Soren’s interim bail plea begins
The hearing has begun. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal is appearing on behalf of Mr. Soren. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju is representing the ED.
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