Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is unlikely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Ranchi on August 14 in connection with money laundering case, a source said.
The central agency has issued a fifth summon to Soren, asking him to appear on October 4 for questioning after the previous four summons could not bring the Jharkhand CM to the agency’s doorstep in Ranchi.
Soren has already filed a petition before the Jharkhand high court, challenging the issuance of summons to him by the central agency. He may urge the central probe agency for early hearing of his petition.
Soren moved the state High Court after his petition to the Supreme Court was rejected and he was directed by the apex court on Monday to approach the concerned High Court with his plea against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi refused to entertain the plea filed by Soren. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Jharkhand Chief Minister sought to withdraw the plea.
The ED wants Soren to appear for recording his statement regarding properties owned, possessed and occupied by him. The ED has served five summons to Soren in less than two months. The CM, on the other hand, has ignored the earlier four summons, which had required him to appear on August 14, August 24, September 9 and September 23. The ED, on its part, has remained persistent, issuing summon after summon.
However, sources said that ED pointing out to Soren in a letter that the issue was “not about disclosure of personal assets but about investigation of assets representing proceeds of crime”. This could well be a loud hint about certain allegations indicating a difference in properties possessed and properties declared by the chief minister.
Soren had earlier pointed out to the ED that he had already provided details of movable and immovable properties owned by him and his family members along with certified copies of the title deeds and his bank accounts during the last round of questioning in November 2022. The ED had then questioned the Jharkhand CM for nine hours. That questioning was in connection with alleged money laundering pertaining to a mining scam in which Soren’s political aide Pankaj Mishra was arrested in July 2022. The ED, however, has clarified that the summons in November 2022 and those issued this August and later pertained to a different case investigated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
In his plea, Soren had urged the top court to declare Section 50 and Section 63 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 as ultra vires to the Constitution of India and to issue appropriate direction to declare the summons against him as illegal and null and void. He also sought to quash summons against him and all steps taken and proceedings emanating therefrom. Soren submitted that the issuance of summons is actuated by malice in fact as false allegation has been hoisted against the petitioner with the sole motive of creating political uncertainty and unrest in the State.