Court of law supreme, democracy's pillar with no darkness: Jharkhand CM Soren on SC verdict

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging a Jharkhand high court order granting him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

Speaking to the reporters, Soren emphasised the importance of upholding the rule of law, stating that his imprisonment had been orchestrated under false pretences aimed at tarnishing his and his family's reputation.

"I was incarcerated as if I had absconded with the state's assets... Blame was systematically laid upon the Soren family," he asserted.

"The court of law is supreme, it is democracy's pillar where there is no darkness but some groups are engaged in wasting its time and harass people working for society without any reason," he added.

Expressing gratitude to the Supreme Court, which upheld the Jharkhand High Court's June 28 order, Soren criticised efforts to stifle voices advocating for marginalised communities.

The apex court said the HC's order granting bail to Soren was a "very well reasoned judgment".

"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said.

He lamented the wasted time during his five-month imprisonment, noting that many issues could have been addressed had this period not been lost.

Kalpana, Soren's wife and a legislator, welcomed the apex court’s decision as a victory for truth. She questioned the impact of her husband's five-month ordeal, calling attention to the lost time that could have been used to serve the people.

Soren shared a post by JMM on X which said, "The entire country has come to know how the Centre and BJP hate a tribal Chief Minister and how he was deliberately put behind the bars and tortured in a false case. Why? Because that tribal did not bow. When will these power-hungry people apologise to the people of the country including Jharkhand."

"Jharkhand was created after sacrifices of thousands of warriors and these dictators want to divide it. This will never be possible as long as JMM is there. Jharkhand is one and will remain one," the post added.

Former CM Champai Soren and ruling alliance leaders also hailed the Supreme Court decision saying this was bound to happen.

Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had resigned as chief minister shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case. After coming out of jail on bail in the case, he returned as the CM on July 4.

The case involved allegations that Soren misused his position as chief minister to unlawfully acquire 8.86 acres in Ranchi's Bargain area.

Despite vehement opposition to his bail plea by the Enforcement Directorate, which alleged manipulation of official records, Soren's legal team argued that he was falsely implicated in the case.

Earlier in the day, the ruling JMM protested against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's statement in Lok Sabha where he demanded that parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar be declared a Union Territory to check infiltration from Bangladesh.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on July 25, Dubey demanded that a Union Territory be formed with Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal, Araria, Kishanganj and Katihar districts of Bihar and Santhal Parganas region of Jharkhand.

He claimed that the population of tribals in the Santhal Parganas region was declining due to the growing influx of "Bangladeshi infiltrators".