“Our leader is innocent, will be acquitted”: JMM’s Manoj Pandey after charges framed against CM Soren in land scam case

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–> “Our leader is innocent, will be acquitted”: JMM’s Manoj Pandey after charges framed against CM Soren in land scam case ANI | Updated: Oct 01, 2026 03:04 IST

Join our Whatsapp channel Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], October 1 (ANI): Rejecting the charges framed against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the Bargain land scam case, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Manoj Pandey on Wednesday dismissed the proceedings as a politically motivated fabrication orchestrated through agencies.The development comes after the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ranchi framed charges against the Chief Minister, while Soren appeared before the court through video conferencing during the hearing.Defending the leadership, JMM leader Pandey asserted that the party has complete faith in the judiciary and expressed confidence that the Chief Minister will be fully vindicated.”Hearings and arguments will follow. Subsequently, the lower court will decide the outcome. Last time, the lower court had issued a warrant, and an arrest was made. This is a false case; it is a fabricated case. The High Court granted bail and remarked that no such case is made out; we have full faith in the judiciary. Justice will prevail. Satyamev Jayate, truth will triumph,” Manoj Pandey told ANI.Highlighting past relief granted by the higher judiciary and accusing opponents of targeting a prominent tribal leader, Pandey added, “You might feel you have achieved a great feat by misusing your agencies to gather fabricated evidence, trying to implicate a popular Chief Minister, the son of a tribal. But your designs will not succeed. Our leader is innocent. He will be acquitted.”Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Pratul Sahdeo demanded the Chief Minister’s resignation. He said Soren should face the proceedings as an ordinary citizen, adding that continuing in office brings disrepute to the state.”The Chief Minister should immediately resign and face the trial. We believe it would be entirely inappropriate otherwise. A Chief Minister wields significant influence; therefore, once charges have been framed and the trial is underway, it would be in the interest of justice for him to face the proceedings as an ordinary citizen and resign from the post without delay,” Pratul Sahdeo told ANI.He added, “Nevertheless, we believe that if the Chief Minister retains even a shred of morality, he should resign. Face the trial, Chief Minister; do not undergo the trial while holding office. It brings disrepute to Jharkhand.”The development came after the Jharkhand High Court earlier had refused to stay the framing of charges against the Chief Minister. Following the High Court’s order, Soren appeared before the Special PMLA court.On Wednesday, the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Ranchi framed charges against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with the alleged 8.86-acre land scam case in the Bargain circle area. Soren appeared before the court through video conferencing during the hearing.During the hearing, CM Hemant Soren denied the allegations levelled against him and termed the charges as baseless.The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named a total of 17 individuals as accused in the case. The process of framing charges against the other accused had already been completed at different stages, with Soren being the last accused against whom charges were framed.Addressing the media persons, CM Soren’s counsel, Sanjeev Sahay, said, “We had filed a petition in the High Court challenging Section 44(d) because it is constitutionally unreasonable; the High Court issued a notice on this matter today. Meanwhile, in the Special Court today, charges were framed, and the matter has now been scheduled for November 30 for further consideration and evidence. Yes, the trial will take place. We pleaded not guilty.”Speaking to ANI, Advocate Sanjay Kumar said that charges against all other accused in the case had already been framed, while proceedings against the Chief Minister were pending as he had approached higher courts through legal remedies.”Today, the framing of charges took place. Charges had already been framed against all other accused individuals; only the Chief Minister’s charges remained pending because he had previously pursued certain legal avenues in higher courts. A date was set for this, and the charges were formally framed this evening,” Kumar said.He added that Hemant Soren appeared before the court through video conferencing and denied the allegations levelled against him.”After hearing them, he denied the allegations, stating that the charges levelled against him by the prosecution were incorrect and baseless. He maintained his innocence. Following this, the matter proceeds to trial,” the advocate said.The case relates to alleged illegal acquisition and transfer of 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain area. The ED had registered a money laundering case in connection with the alleged land transaction.On September 19, the Jharkhand High Court on Friday rejected Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s plea seeking an immediate stay on proceedings against him before the Special PMLA Court here in connection with the alleged Bargain land purchase case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).Soren had approached the High Court challenging the Special PMLA court’s June decision, which had rejected his discharge application. In June, the special trial court held that the ED had placed sufficient prima facie evidence on record to proceed against the Chief Minister, thereby refusing to drop the proceedings against him. (ANI)