A year of court relief, police accountability

The year 2024 in Jharkhand will be marked by a striking contrast in the judicial landscape, as court orders provided significant relief to several high-profile Enforcement Directorate (ED) accused, including chief minister Hemant Soren and suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal, while simultaneously holding police officials accountable.

- Raj Kumar

RANCHI:

In a landmark judgment, two police officers were sentenced to one month of imprisonment for failing to complete legal formalities before sending two accused to jail, underscoring the year's dual focus on both relief for prominent figures and the enforcement of legal accountability.

On January 12, the Jharkhand high court (JHC) granted bail to businessman Vishnu Aggarwal, an accused in a land scam case arrested by the ED on July 31 last year. Justice Deepak Roshan allowed the bail application, setting a condition of furnishing a bail bond of ₹100,000 with two sureties of the same amount to the satisfaction of the trial court and surrendering his passport before the trial court.

The court observed that Aggarwal had been in custody since July 31, and no evidence had been presented to suggest that he would hamper the trial or that his continued custody was necessary.