Jharkhand High Court fines state government Rs 8,000 in ED officials case
The penalty for seeking more time to respond to a petition follows a previous fine imposed on Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The Jharkhand High Court on Monday imposed a fine of Rs 8,000 on the state government for requesting more time to respond to a petition. According to The Hawk, the petition seeks to quash an FIR filed under the SC/ST Act against former Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials.
The court directed that the penalty be deposited into the account of the Jharkhand State Legal Services Authority (JHALSA). This follows a previous instance where the court fined Chief Minister Hemant Soren Rs 10,000 after his counsel requested four weeks to file a response.
The case involves an FIR registered on January 31, 2024, at the Ranchi SC/ST police station. Hemant Soren filed the complaint against former ED officials Kapil Raj, Devvrat Jha, Anupam Kumar, Aman Patel, and others.
In the complaint, Soren alleged that the officials required him to stay in Ranchi from January 29 to 31, 2024. He claimed the agency searched his Delhi home without giving him notice while he was away.
Soren further alleged that the actions of the agency caused him mental and social harassment and attempted to damage his reputation through media reports. The ED officials have approached the High Court to quash the FIR and stay police actions.
Senior advocate Amit Kumar Das and advocate Saurabh Kumar represented the former ED officials. The court has previously stayed further proceedings and police notices issued to the officials while seeking a response from the state.