The Jharkhand High Court on Saturday rejected the bail petition of Pankaj Mishra, an MLA representative of the state's former Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary observed, “Petitioner being the political representative of the then Chief Minister enjoys political and administrative connection. Matter involves crime proceed being generated by large scale illegal mining activity being carried out, and the Petitioner appears to be the king pin. There are prima facie materials to suggest his pivotal role in laundering of the crime proceed generated in illegal mining activity. Trial is at its nascent stage with charge being framed on 03.03.2023 and out of 42 only 10 witnesses having been examined. Petitioner's health condition is monitored by the Jail doctors and was referred to and treated in higher centre at Delhi.”

“I do not find any change of circumstance to enlarge the petitioner on regular bail and accordingly, the same is again rejected. Learned Trial Court is however directed to expedite the trial,” Justice Choudhary held.

Pankaj Mishra, a close aide of Soren, was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in July 2022 on suspicion of his involvement in an illicit mining operation worth Rs 1000 crore in the Santhal Parganas region.

Mishra, who holds a close association with Soren, has been under scrutiny for allegedly manipulating mining tenders and other contracts, leading to the seizure of his assets by the ED the previous year.

During the investigation, the ED conducted raids on properties belonging to Mishra and his associate in Sahibganj, Barhait, Rajmahal, Mirza Chowki, and Barharwa. These raids led to the confiscation of various incriminating documents and unaccounted cash amounting to Rs 5.34 crore. Additionally, five illegally operated stone crushers and shotgun cartridges were seized during the search operation.

The ED also leveled charges against electricity trader Prem Prakash, local criminal Sahibganj Bacchu Yadav, and Pankaj Mishra, and subsequently filed a prosecution charge in March 2023 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency alleged that Mishra had illegally acquired or accumulated substantial assets in his name.

According to the ED's chargesheet, Mishra was actively involved in unlawful mining activities and embezzlement of large sums of money, purportedly under the supervision of Hemant Soren, despite his close ties with the former chief minister.

In response, Pankaj Mishra lodged a complaint in the PMLA court against an assistant director of the ED, accusing them of concealing facts related to the Barharwa tender case in their court filings. The complaint, filed by Sambu Nandan Kumar, stated that Mishra had purportedly threatened Kumar against participating in the bidding process. When Kumar refused, he allegedly faced a mob attack orchestrated by Mishra.

The ED asserted that the primary objective behind Mishra's actions was to gain control over all six toll plazas managed by the Barharwa Nagar Panchayat along the route linking the mining sites.

Notably, Mishra had previously applied for bail, which was denied by the High Court on 28.02.2023. Following this, Mishra filed a Special Leave Petition with the Supreme Court, but later withdrew it to submit a fresh bail application six months later.

The Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave application as withdrawn, permitting Mishra to apply for interim bail on medical grounds.

Subsequently, Mishra sought bail from the Trial Court, which was refused. He then filed a bail application before the High Court.

In his renewed application before the High Court, Mishra sought regular bail in connection with the ECIR Case registered under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, pending in the Court of Special Judge, CBI cum Special Judge, PML Act, Ranchi.

The primary argument for renewing the bail application was that similarly situated co-accused persons had been granted bail by both the Supreme Court and the High Court. Specific mention was made of the bail granted to co-accused Bachhu Yadav by the Supreme Court, citing his one-year incarceration, the filing of a charge sheet, and examination of witnesses. Additionally, the bail application of Krishna Kumar Saha was highlighted, which was allowed by the High Court.

The petitioner's counsel argued that charges had been framed and ten witnesses had already been examined by the Trial Court. It was further argued that Mishra had been in custody since 20.07.2022, and the maximum sentence for the offense under the PML Act was six years. Lastly, it was contended that the counter-affidavit did not reveal any new evidence against Mishra. Regarding allegations of involvement in other cases, it was asserted that no crime proceeds had been linked to Mishra for the offense of money laundering.

On medical grounds of the petitioner, it was urged that petitioner is suffering from chronic Pancreatic disease apart from hypertension and Type-2 Diabetics and he was sent for treatment at and admitted into the Hospital in September last year.

Having considered the rival submissions advanced on behalf of both sides, the Court observed, “it is apparent that case of this Petitioner cannot be equated with that of co- accused, Bachu Yadav or co-accused, Krishna Kumar Saha who have been granted bail.”

“Petitioner is the main accused and Bachhu Yadav was his henchman as the per the prosecution case. Accused, Krishna Kumar Saha was not named in the earlier two prosecution complaints and his name came up in the 3rd supplementary prosecution complaint submitted by the ED,” the Court added while rejecting Pankaj Mishra's plea.

Appearance:

For the Petitioner: : Mr. S. Naganuthu, Sr. AdvocateM/s Vikash Pandey, Arunagiri, Srishty, J. Kr. Mishra, Advocates

For the ED: Mr. Anil Kumar, ASGIMs. Chandana Kumari, AC to ASGI

Case No.: B. A. No. 10861 of 2023

Case Title: Pankaj Mishra Versus Union of India through Directorate of Enforcement, Government of India

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Jha) 26

Click Here To Read / Download Judgement