ED Court Rejects Hemant Soren's Plea to Stall Trial; Charges to Be Framed on September 24

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-09-21 19:49:00

In a major judicial setback for Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ranchi on Monday dismissed his plea seeking to defer the framing of charges and halt trial proceedings in connection with the alleged 8.86-acre land scam in the Bargain region. The bench presided over by Special Judge Yogesh Kumar ruled that an ongoing supplementary investigation does not bar or stay the judicial process of framing charges based on the original complaint filed by the central probe agency. Soren's scheduled appearance before the civil court via virtual conferencing on Monday could not materialize due to an unexpected technical breakdown of the Jio telecommunications server, prompting the court to schedule September 24 as the definitive date for formal charge-framing against the Chief Minister.

Landmark Precedents Cited: Court Rules Supplementary Probe Cannot Derail Ongoing Trial

Delivering its reasoned order, the special court relied extensively on the constitutional precedent established by the Supreme Court of India in the landmark Vijay Madanlal Choudhary vs Union of India ruling, highlighting that money laundering constitutes a continuous offense under statutory law. The court held that the mere contemplation or subsequent filing of a supplementary complaint does not extinguish the foundational complaint already pending adjudication, nor does it create a procedural deadlock requiring court trials to remain frozen. While the defense counsel argued that moving ahead with trial proceedings while the Enforcement Directorate explicitly reserves rights to submit supplementary complaints violates statutory principles of natural justice, the court found no legal merit in halting the indictment process.

ED Refutes Delay Tactics as High Court and Special Benches Uphold PMLA Proceedings

Opposing Soren’s petition during intensive arguments, the ED’s Special Public Prosecutor characterized the defense plea as a deliberate effort to delay court trial timelines. The central investigative agency submitted that Soren's earlier discharge petition had already been dismissed and noted that the Jharkhand High Court had refused to grant an interim stay on the trial proceedings. Emphasizing the operational scope of Section 44 of the PMLA, the enforcement counsel argued that statutory provisions explicitly authorize concurrent, supplementary investigative probes without placing any legal embargo on proceeding with the trial under the primary complaint. With all interlocutory objections formally overruled, the court is set to proceed with framing formal criminal charges against Soren on September 24.

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