Why in news
The grant of bail to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren exposes the questionable practice of the Enforcement Directorate in slapping money-laundering cases just to arrest political adversaries of the ruling dispensation.
Using PMLA to target
The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) forces courts to render a preliminary finding on whether there is reason to believe that those jailed for laundering money are guilty of the offence and grant bail only if they record a negative finding
Weaponising such provisions against political opponents can have grave consequences for their personal liberty.
The case
The Enforcement Directorate registered a case under the PMLA against him based on a police case related to forgery and fabrication of documents
It sought to build a case that 8.86 acres of land, as part of a larger extent sold to those not entitled to buy it, belonged to Mr. Soren and was in his possession since 2010.
The Enforcement Directorate claimed that its timely intervention and the arrest of those involved prevented the illegal acquisition of the land.
The court has raised pertinent questions as to why no one who had allegedly been unlawfully evicted from the land had ever approached any court for redress even when Mr. Soren was out of power.
The High Court’s findings such as these may be the subject of appeal or may be revisited during the trial.
However, they also shine a light on how central agencies are showing unseemly haste in arresting political functionaries in office based on inferences and surmises.
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