The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Enforcement Directorate’s appeal challenging the Jharkhand High Court judgement granting bail to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, Live Law reported.

The bench of Justices BR Gavai and KV Viswanathan observed that the High Court’s judgement, which prima facie found Soren not guilty, was “very well-reasoned”.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju objected to the High Court disregarding the witness statements recorded by the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

In response, Gavai stated: “In our opinion, it is a very well-reasoned order”.

“Ultimately, according to you, the mutation was done for some Raj Kumar [Pahan],” Viswanathan said. “So you must show some nexus with the original entrant. Except for saying that some visits to the property were made, what is there?”

He added: “Valid reasons have been given why they [witness statements] are disregarded [in the High Court’s verdict].”

The judge said that the High Court had specifically found that there was nothing in the records seized from one of the accused, Bhanu Pratap, that implicated Soren in the case.

The bench also said that the observations made by the High Court are related to the consideration of bail and would not influence the trial court or other proceedings.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was granted bail by the High Court on June 28. He had been in jail since January 31, when he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case. This was shortly after he resigned as the chief minister after being questioned by the central law enforcement agency.

Soren became the chief minister again on July 4 after the High Court gave him bail.

The case

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that a “racket of land mafia” in Jharkhand was involved in tampering with official land records in Ranchi and Kolkata. Some of the land acquired through the forgery had illegally come into Soren’s possession, the agency alleged.

The chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate on March 30 named Soren, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Raj Kumar Pahan, Hilariyas Kachhap and Binod Singh as the accused persons in the alleged land scam. The central agency has also attached 8.86 acres of land allegedly owned by Soren.

The prime accused in the case is Prasad, a former Jharkhand revenue department official and custodian of government records.

According to the Enforcement Directorate, Prasad was part of a syndicate that acquired properties using illegal means, including by using force and falsifying government records.

Prasad “hatched conspiracies” with Soren, among others, to take over properties, the central agency claimed, according to The Indian Express. It claimed that details regarding the illegal acquiring and possession of properties were found on Prasad’s phone.

The central agency alleged that Soren acquired the land located at Baragain Anchal at Bariyatu Road in Ranchi through the proceeds of crime stemming from money-laundering. The agency also accused Soren of misusing his power and concealing evidence in the case after he was issued the first summons for questioning on August 7.

The chief minister denied the Enforcement Directorate’s allegations, claiming that he has no link to the property and no relation with Prasad.