Ranchi, June 8 (IANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren suffered a major legal setback on Monday after a special court hearing cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) rejected his discharge petition in a case linked to 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi’s Badgai area.

The PMLA special court had reserved its order earlier after hearing arguments from both sides.

On Monday, the court ruled that at this stage there are sufficient grounds based on available records and allegations to proceed with the case and that the accused cannot be discharged.

With this, the Chief Minister’s discharge plea was dismissed.

The case pertains to the alleged illegal acquisition of 8.86 acres of land in the Shanti Nagar area of Badgai in Ranchi and the money laundering charges related to it.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is investigating the case, has named Soren as an accused based on its findings.

In his petition seeking discharge from the case, filed on December 5, 2025, Soren had claimed that the allegations against him were baseless and that there was insufficient evidence to justify prosecution.

He also contended that he had been unnecessarily implicated and that the ED did not possess any concrete evidence against him.

During the hearing, the ED opposed the discharge plea, arguing that the evidence and documents gathered during the investigation were adequate in the matter to proceed to trial.

Following the rejection of the discharge petition, the case will now move forward in the judicial process and may proceed towards trial.

The Chief Minister, however, according to legal experts, has the option of challenging the special court’s order before a higher judicial forum.

This was the same case in which Hemant Soren was arrested in March 2024, and Champai Soren, now with the BJP, had become Chief Minister.

The ED had conducted several raids and had summoned Hemant Soren ten times for interrogation.

–IANS

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