A Special Bench of the Supreme Court on Friday refused to intervene in a plea by former Jharkhand Chief minister Hemant Soren challenging his arrest on money laundering charges in a land scam case, asking him to try his luck in the Jharkhand High Court.
“Why don’t you go to the High Court. It is a constitutional court. The High Courts are open to everyone… Once we permit you to come directly here, we will have to permit everybody,” Justice Sanjiv Khanna told senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A.M. Singhvi, appearing for Soren.
The Bench, also comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Bela M. Trivedi, requested the High Court to consider and decide Mr. Soren’s petition expeditiously. Sibal alleged the Centre was “trying to topple the government” in Jharkhand. “There are matters which you have directly entertained. My Lords should be consistent … You see, there are situations and then there are situations,” Sibal emphasised.
Singhvi said the Supreme Court had concurrent jurisdiction with the High Court. Discretion lay with the Supreme Court whether or not to entertain cases.
Justice Khanna said he and his Associate Judges on the Bench were of the consistent view that petitioners ought to adhere to the tiers of appeal and not jump the queue to come directly to the Supreme Court.
“Please go to the High Court… We have to do this in a consistent manner,” Justice Khanna said.
When Sibal asked the Bench to give the High Court a time line to complete the hearing, Justice Khanna said he did not want to “control” the High Court.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), said Soren had filed an “identical petition” in the High Court.
“The fact of the matter is the High Court is hearing his petition,” Raju addressed the three-judge Bench. He remarked that the jail had been converted to a five-star hotel.
The court, in its order, noted how Soren had, on his own initiative, withdrawn his writ petition challenging provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) from the Supreme Court while “seeking liberty to approach the High Court for the same set of reliefs” on September 18, 2023.
The ED arrested Soren under the PMLA on January 31 after he submitted his resignation as Chief Minister.
Sibal mentioned that the case of arrest of Soren again highlighted the misuse of powers by the ED owing to the ambiguity about the actual intent of Section 19 (procedure for arrest) of the PMLA.
Section 19 only said the agency needed to “inform” the accused about the grounds of arrest. A judgment by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court had recently held that ED needed to provide the accused with a written copy of his grounds of arrest only within a “reasonable period”, ie, 24 hours of arrest.
This verdict had come amidst debate that non-communication of the grounds of arrest was a violation of Article 22(1) of the Constitution. The Article upholds the fundamental right of any person who is in custody to be informed as to why he has been arrested.
A Special Bench had been reviewing a Supreme Court judgment of 2022, which upheld core PMLA amendments. The petitioners in the review had argued that these amendments had bestowed unbridled powers to arrest, summon, and raid persons.
A seven-judge Bench of the top court has also been constituted to examine the introduction of these amendments into the PMLA through the Money Bill route, by circumventing the Rajya Sabha, in violation of Article 110 of the Constitution.
Champai Soren sworn in as Jharkhand Chief Minister; to seek trust vote on February 5
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s (JMM) Champai Soren took oath as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Friday. He was accompanied by Satyanand Bhokta and Alamgir Alam who were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers.
After being sworn in as the Minister which was followed by Cabinet meeting, Alamgir Khan said that the Champal Soren-led government will seek trust vote on February 5.
Champai was elected as the new leader of the JMM Legislature Party following Hemant Soren’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he met the Governor and submitted his resignation as Chief Minister.
Champai is the sixth CM from the Jharkhand’s Kolhan region which comprises East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan districts. Champai Soren had been given 10 days to prove his government’s majority, said state Congress chief Rajesh Thakur whose party is a constituent of the JMM-led alliance.
“We stand united. Our alliance is very strong. No one can break it,” Champai Soren had said. In the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, the majority alliance has 47 MLAs — JMM 29, Congress 17 and RJD 1. The BJP has 26 members and the AJSU Party three. The NCP and CPI (ML) have one lawmaker each, apart from two Independents.
Following a day filled with suspense and uncertainty on February 1, two chartered aircraft carrying Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance MLAs from Jharkhand touched down at Hyderabad’s Begumpet airport on February 2 afternoon. As per an aircraft tracking website, two aircraft — a Dassault Falcon 2000 with registration VT-ARO and an Embraer ERJ-135LR with registration VT-JSI — departed from Ranchi and landed at Begumpet airport around 3.30 p.m.
Sources have confirmed that a total of 39 MLAs, representing Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have arrived in Hyderabad.
Vijay launches ‘Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam; to contest 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls
Tamil cinema’s leading hero Vijay on Friday took the political plunge and announced the formation of his political party ‘Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam’. Positioning himself against the politics of “corruption” and “divisiveness”, Mr. Vijay declared that his party would enter the electoral fray in the 2026 Assembly election. It will stay away from the upcoming Lok Sabha election and not extend support to anyone.
Arguably the biggest and highest paid star in Tamil Nadu at the moment, Mr. Vijay, the founder-president of the party, said while Tamil Nadu has suffered due to maladministration and corruption, the State also has been plagued by the politics of hate and divisiveness.
“It is a fact that everyone is yearning for governance that is selfless, transparent, corruption-free, and without caste or religious bias. What is important is that such politics is in tune with the Tamil culture of equality and political traditions of the State, and within the framework of Indian Constitution,” he said.
The actor had several years ago converted his fans association into Vijay Makkal Iyakkam (VMI), a larger social platform that has now been converted into a political party. Bussy Anand, general secretary, VMI, was in New Delhi to initiate the process of registering the political party with Election Commission of India.
In a three-page statement, Mr. Vijay said the party will start propagating its “Tamil Nadu-centric” ideology and policies, among the people through public events after the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
In the intervening period party cadres will be “politicised” and party’s reach in the grassroots will be strengthened and office-bearers will appointed “democratically”.
Mr. Vijay said he doesn’t consider politics as “just another profession” and that it is a “sacred service of people”. “I have learnt not just the heights of politics but its depths from seniors in politics. Politics is not my hobby, it is my quest,” he said.
While the actor has not kept his fans and public guessing about his political plunge, he has been involved in political skirmishes in the last 15 years with both the DMK and AIADMK, the two dominant parties of Tamil Nadu.
CBI books activist Harsh Mander, his NGO for alleged FCRA violations; conducts searches
The CBI has registered a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against human rights activist Harsh Mander and his NGO, and searched his premises on February 2, officials said.
The searches were conducted at two locations in Delhi, including Mander’s official and residential premises, according to a CBI statement. The agency registered the FIR against the former IAS officer and his Delhi-based CES after conducting a preliminary enquiry on a complaint from the Home Ministry for the alleged violations of various provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
The agency had registered a preliminary enquiry on April 13 last year on a complaint from the Home Ministry against the Centre for Equity Studies, Aman Biradari Trust, Oxfam India and Action Aid Association over alleged FCRA violations.
The enquiry revealed that the Centre for Equity Studies was established and registered as a trust with Harsh Mander as its chairman, the FIR said. “It has been alleged that the NGO had transferred ₹32.71 lakh other than salary/wages/remuneration, from its FCRA account into the account of individual(s) during 2020-21 in violation of the provisions of FCRA, 2010. It has also been alleged that the NGO had also diverted funds worth ₹10 lakh from its FCRA account through the firm(s) in violation of the provisions of FCRA, 2010,” the CBI spokesperson said in the statement.
The enquiry has revealed that through its Chairman Mander, the CES diverted funds from FCRA accounts in alleged violations of FCRA, the FIR has alleged. The Home Ministry had suspended CES’ FCRA certification on June 14 last year for six months.
Reacting to the CBI action, noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan said on X, “CBI is raiding Harsh Mander’s house and office. He has been one of the most gentle, humane & generous activists who has worked tirelessly for the weak and poor. He is being targeted only because he has been critical of this government. All agencies are being blatantly used to target critics.”
Thanking Bhushan, Mander said, “We must continue to join hands to defend the idea of a country of love & freedom, whatever maybe the costs.” Terming the CBI action ‘persecution’, Delhi University Professor Apoorvanand said all agencies of the government have been deployed against Mander who works for the most vulnerable and for minority rights.
Union Ministers seek apology from Congress for MP’s remark on ‘separate nation’ for south
The Union Ministers in both Houses of Parliament on February 2 demanded an apology from the Congress after one of its Lok Sabha members, D.K. Suresh, allegedly said that south India may seek a separate nation if they don’t get enough funds in the Union Budget.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the matter to the Ethics Committee, and sought an apology from Sonia Gandhi, who heads the Congress Parliamentary Party.
On Thursday, offering his response to the Union Budget to Kannada channels, Suresh reportedly said, ”Our tax money is being distributed to north India, if we don’t condemn it there might arise a situation where we will have to demand a separate nation.”
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, Joshi termed Suresh’s remarks an insult to the architect of the Constitution, Babasaheb Ambedkar.
“I condemn the statement of the Congress member and demand that the matter be referred to the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha,” Joshi said. “The Congress traditions on dividing the country still persists. I demand that Sonia Gandhi take action against the member and also clarify whether the party supports the views of the Congress member,” he said.
Members of the Opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the DMK, were on their feet. Congress deputy leader Gaurav Gogoi wanted to respond to Joshi immediately but Birla indicated he would allow him after laying of papers.
Later, speaking on the Motion of Thanks for the President, Gogoi questioned how the Parliamentary Affairs Minister could raise an issue when Suresh was not present in the House and that too for a statement made outside the House.
In the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister Piyush Goyal sought an apology from the Congress for the MP’s remarks, which he said reflect the “divisive” thinking of the Congress. He said the statement cannot be ignored as it is an attack on the Constitution and an insult to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
Congress chief and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said the party will not tolerate any statement that calls for breaking the country. “That statement may be from any party... be it from my party or their [BJP] party, or somebody else. Someone says or not, I Mallikarjun Kharge, will state that India is one from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and will remain one. It is for this cause that Indira Gandhi gave the supreme sacrifice of her life and Rajiv Gandhi gave his life. Can such a party talk of breaking the country? We will not tolerate such a thing,” he said.
At the same time, he said Suresh was being misquoted. “If he has said anything, the matter should be looked into by the Privileges Committee (of the Lok Sabha),” Kharge added.
DMK leader Baalu raises issue of Governors in Lok Sabha, says some behave ‘as if they have no care of Constitution’
The conflict between Governors and Chief Ministers in several States was raised by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP T.R. Baalu in the Lok Sabha on Friday, where without mentioning names, he said that the behaviour of some Governors was “as if they had no care about what is there in the Constitution”. He requested President Droupadi Murmu to “pull them up”.
He said this in his speech replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President for her address to both Houses of Parliament. In a speech that also raised the issue of lack of Central funds promised by the Union government for dealing with “unprecedented” floods in several districts in Tamil Nadu, the allusion to Governors and their roles was in the context of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where relations between the government and the Governors has not been harmonious.
“Many Governors think they have a halo behind their heads, as if they have no care about what is there in the Constitution,” he said. He added that the Motion of Thanks is the government’s policy statement and President Murmu read every word of the speech previously cleared by the Union Cabinet, but that “recently one Governor read only the last word” in a particular State Assembly, alluding to Kerala.
“In some States the Governor is competing with the Opposition to scold the government” which had been elected democratically, he said. Baalu then requested President Murmu to exert her authority to pull up the Governors.
Governor R.N. Ravi and the DMK led government in Tamil Nadu, as well as Governor Arif Mohammad Khan and the Left Front government in Kerala have had several run-ins over various issues, including a very recent protest by Khan against the government with regard to his security amid black flag protests by the Students Federation of India against him just six days ago.
In brief
Kejriwal skips 5th summons from ED
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday, February 2, 2024, for questioning in an alleged money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, according to the AAP. The ED on Wednesday had issued a fresh and the fifth summons to Kejriwal after he skipped four earlier summons over the last four months. Terming the summons “illegal”, the party said the ED is repeatedly sending notices to Kejriwal to arrest him. The AAP also alleged that the BJP wants to topple its government in Delhi by getting Kejriwal arrested. The AAP will not let this happen, it said.
No immediate relief to the Gyanvapi Masjid committee
The Allahabad High Court on February 2 did not give any immediate relief to the Gyanvapi Masjid committee, which had challenged the order of the Varanasi court allowing Hindu prayers in a cellar of the mosque. The court will now hear the matter on February 6. Justice Rohit Ranjan Agrawal passed the order while hearing an appeal filed by the committee, which looks after the affairs of the mosque. The Anzuman Intezamia Masjid Committee had moved the High Court within hours of the Supreme Court refusing to hear their plea against the Varanasi district court’s order and asking them to approach the high court.
Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.
