Ex CM Hemant Soren who is in jail on charges of money laundering linked with land case,did not appear in the court in the disobedience of notices issued by the Enforcement Directorate. 

This is the fourth time Hemant Soren has preferred not to appear before the court in the above case. 

In fact,the agency had filed a complaint against the senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader sometime back, saying he had failed to join the investigation under seven summonses issued to him, the first being on August 14 last year. 

Soren is being prosecuted under the Indian Penal Code's section 174 (non-attendance in obedience to an order from public servant), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had said in its complaint. 

Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 on money laundering charges following a second round of questioning at his official residence in Ranchi. He had resigned as the chief minister before he was arrested. The 48-year-old JMM leader is under judicial custody at present.

"From the contents of the complainant (ED) and the material placed on record, prima facie offence under section 174 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, is made out and there are sufficient grounds for proceedings under Section 204 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, against accused Hemant Soren," the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate Krishna Kant Mishra said in its order issued on March 5.