ED grills Jharkhand HC Advocate in alleged army land scam case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated the questioning of Himanshu Kumar Mehta, a senior advocate at the Jharkhand High Court, in connection with the army land scam in the capital city of Jharkhand.

The ED has been investigating the case, which has already led to the arrest of former Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan and Kolkata businessman Amit Agarwal, among others.Mehta's questioning commenced after he voluntarily appeared at the regional office of the probe agency in Hinoo, following a summons issued to him.

The allegations against Mehta suggest that he facilitated Jayant Karnad's claim to rent the land occupied by the army through the use of false documents and allegedly profited from the sale of the land.The ED's investigation into the matter initially focused on Karnad, who was summoned by the agency to provide information about the documents used in the illegal land deal.

Karnad subsequently named Mehta as his lawyer and claimed that all the relevant documents were in his possession.

During its primary investigation, the ED discovered that the documents and claims presented by advocate Mehta in the Jharkhand High Court on behalf of Karnad were false. The probe agency found that Mehta deliberately withheld crucial information from the High Court, as the Army itself was searching for the rightful claimant to pay the rent.

The ED's probe indicated that Mehta failed to disclose to the High Court that Karnad did not possess the necessary succession certificate, which was required by the defense. It suggested that Karnad and Mehta colluded to obtain favorable orders from the Jharkhand High Court by presenting documents or evidence supporting Karnad's succession to the property.