RANCHI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ranchi on Wednesday framed charges against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with the Bargai land scam case involving the alleged fraudulent acquisition of 8.86 acres of land.
The charges were framed at around 4:30 pm under the PMLA, 2002. Soren appeared before the court through video conferencing, and the court directed the prosecution to proceed with the trial. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is scheduled to begin presenting its witnesses from November 30.
Soren denied the allegations and said he was ready to face the trial. His lawyer, Sanjeev Sahay, said the framing of charges had moved the case forward and that witnesses would now be examined.
Earlier in the day, Soren appeared virtually before the court, which read out the charges against him. He maintained his innocence and said he would face the trial, following which the court formally framed the charges.
The hearing on the framing of charges was initially scheduled as the first item on the day's docket. Soren's counsel sought an adjournment citing a related hearing before the Jharkhand High Court, following which the PMLA court rescheduled the hearing to 4:15 pm.
Meanwhile, the High Court on Wednesday declined to stay the framing of charges against Soren by the special PMLA court. Soren had challenged the maintainability of the charge-framing proceedings before the HC.
A partial hearing on the petition took place on September 29, following which a bench comprising Chief Justice MS Sonak and Justice Manoj Prasad scheduled a detailed hearing for 2:15 pm on September 30.
During Wednesday's hearing, the High Court sought a response from the ED and directed the Central government to file its reply.
The High Court also clarified that the proceedings before the special court would not be stayed merely because a petition challenging the process had been filed before it.
At an earlier hearing on September 24, Soren's counsel had sought time to verify documents held by the ED that had not been relied upon. The matter was subsequently listed for September 30 and has been set for October 28.
