The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed interim bail to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, saying he is an influential person whose right to campaign for Lok Sabha elections is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right.
A Vacation Bench of the Supreme Court led by Justice Dipankar Datta is scheduled to hear Mr. Soren’s plea for interim bail on May 21.
Also Read: Hemant Soren hearing LIVE updates
The Central agency, in an affidavit, said even the right to vote, which is considered a statutory/constitutional right, while in judicial custody is curtailed by statute by virtue of section 62(5) of the Representation of People Act.
In an affidavit uncannily similar to the one filed objecting to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s interim bail, the ED said 123 elections have taken place in last five years.
If interim bail was granted for the purpose of campaigning in an election then no politician could be arrested and kept in judicial custody since elections.
Elections in India were an “all-year-round phenomena”.
Under PMLA alone presently there are many politicians who are in judicial custody. There is no reason why special treatment should be accorded to Mr. Soren.
The ED claimed Mr. Soren was guilty of the offence of money laundering for which he was arrested in January.
The charge sheet filed against him in the case listed cogent evidence against him and his close associates.
Mr. Soren had resorted to filing false cases against the officials under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act to thwart the investigation.
Moreover, he had used the State machinery to topple the ED investigation and create false trails. He would tamper with the evidence and influence witnesses
Fake deed for area covering several plots which are part of a property, in illegal and concealed possession, and in use of Hemant Soren was identified.
Fake deeds prepared by Saddam Hussain, Afshar Ali and others, who are accomplices of Bhanu Pratap Prasad, have been traced. Mr. Prasad was assisting Mr. Soren to acquire property illegally and in a deceitful manner, the ED alleged.
Published - May 21, 2024 08:07 am IST
