RANCHI: In another setback for Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand High Court on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 for delay in filing a response in a case related to an FIR lodged by him at the SC/ST police station in Ranchi on January 31, 2024.
In his FIR, Soren had accused Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials of harassing him for being a tribal and bringing disrepute to him in the eyes of the general public.
The FIR was lodged against ED officials Kapil Raj, Deovrat Jha, Anupam Kumar, Aman Patel and others under Section 3(1)(P)(R)(S)(U) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Soren had alleged that the ED conducted searches at his residence at Shantiniketan and Jharkhand Bhawan in Delhi on January 27, 2024, to tarnish his image.
The ED officials subsequently approached the Jharkhand High Court challenging the FIR and proceedings initiated under the SC/ST Act, seeking their quashing.
During the hearing on Thursday, the court expressed displeasure over the request for more time to file a response and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the respondent's side. The court also directed that the response be filed and scheduled the next hearing for November 2.
The High Court had previously directed Hemant Soren to file a response in the matter. During a hearing in April 2026, the court had also imposed a fine when more time was sought to file the response.