GG News Bureau
Ranchi, 3rd Feb. A special court in Ranchi on Saturday granted permission to former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren to participate in the trust vote in the state assembly on February 5.
Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday in a money laundering case, filed a petition before the special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court, seeking permission to participate in the trust vote requested by the new government.
On Friday, the court remanded him to ED custody for five days.
Soren argued before the court that he is a member of the assembly and has the right to participate in the special session.
“Applicant (Soren) is, therefore, filing the present Application seeking an order from this Honorable Court to permit the Applicant to attend the Special Session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly and participate in the proceedings of the Floor Test slated for February 5 at 11 AM,” the petition stated.
The new government, led by Champai Soren, has requested the floor test to demonstrate its majority in the House. Champai Soren assumed the position of chief minister after Hemant Soren’s arrest.
Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan informed news agency PTI that the ED strongly objected to the petition.
“We argued that now the cat is out of the bag, and the purpose of the ED is not to conduct any investigation but to hinder the formation of a new government or bring down the existing government. They have no right to object to the assembly proceedings when he is not interfering with the investigation. Therefore, the court has accepted our petition and granted permission,” he said.
