Army Land Sale Case: SC Dismisses Former Ranchi DC’s Bail Plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected former Ranchi deputy commissioner Chhavi Ranjan’s bail plea in a case involving the sale of army land in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and SC Sharma decided not to overturn the Jharkhand High Court’s October ruling, which had denied bail to Ranjan. The high court had ruled that there was no reason to grant bail since the charge sheet had been filed and the investigation was complete.

Ranjan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 4 following several raids in Ranchi. He is accused of being involved in the sale of 4.55 acres of army land in the Bariatu area. The ED has attached three land parcels in Ranchi—Cheshire Home Road, Pugru, and Siram—valued at Rs. 161.64 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The agency alleges that these lands were fraudulently transferred to land mafia in collusion with land revenue department officials.

Ranjan sought bail from the high court on the grounds that the charge sheet had not been filed within the mandated time frame. However, the high court noted that the charge sheet had been submitted and found no irregularities in the investigation.

The ED has arrested 14 individuals in connection with the case. Ranjan, a 2011-batch IAS officer, previously served as the director of the state social welfare department.

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