On Monday, the Supreme Court, in a major order, refused to interfere with the Jharkhand High Court order and the bail granted to the Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The top court also clarified that anything said by the Supreme Court or High Court should not impact the trial court proceedings. Also, the Supreme Court, while giving oral observations, remarked that the order passed by the High Court regarding releasing Soren’s bail was quite reasoned.
The ED approached the Supreme Court after the High Court granted bail to the Jharkhand Chief Minister earlier. The investigative agency contended that the High Court erred in law when it passed the order and that its observations were prejudicial.
The ED argued that the High Court had erred in asserting that there was no plausible case against Soren per se. However, in a recent development, the Supreme Court has quashed the plea moved by the ED and maintained the Jharkhand High Court judgement.
The Jharkhand High Court released Hemant Soren on 28 June in a land scandal case. On June 13, 2015, the High Court reserved its order on Soren’s bail plea.
“Bail has been granted to Soren. The court has held that prima facie he is not guilty of the offence, and there is no likelihood of the petitioner committing an offence when on bail,” Soren’s senior counsel Arunabh Chowdhury had said at the time of bail.
The Supreme Court’s decision to throw out the ED’s plea is a major event in the fight for due process and a fair trial and in the judiciary’s application of these principles, even in cases involving political bigwigs.
