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A Ranchi court has issued a summons to Hemant Soren, senior leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), for allegedly disobeying Enforcement Directorate (ED) notices in a land grab case. The ED had previously filed a complaint, asserting that Soren failed to join the investigation despite seven summonses issued, beginning on August 14 of the previous year.
Ranchi Court Summons Hemant Soren Over Alleged Non-Compliance with ED Notices. The Chief Judicial Magistrate Krishna Kant Mishra stated in the order issued on Monday that there is a prima facie offense under Section 174 of the Indian Penal Code and sufficient grounds for proceedings under Section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court directed the issuance of summons for Soren’s appearance, scheduling April 3 as the date for his appearance.
Section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure pertains to the magistrate’s powers to issue summons or warrants for the attendance of an accused. The ED’s complaint accuses Soren of intentionally omitting to obey the summons, leading to non-compliance with the summonses issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Similar complaints have been filed against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly disobeying ED summons. The matter is scheduled for the next hearing on March 16. The ED accuses Soren of fraudulent acquisition of 8.5 acres of land in Ranchi and is investigating several other properties linked to him in connection with money laundering.
