The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s request for interim bail to facilitate his election campaigning until May 21. Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta’s bench scheduled the next hearing for that date. During the session, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) requested additional time to respond to the petition, prompting the court to instruct the ED to submit its reply by the upcoming hearing.
Representing the ED, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju noted that Soren had been apprehended long before the elections. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, emphasized the necessity of interim bail, highlighting that while one phase of the Lok Sabha polls had concluded, the fifth phase was scheduled for May 20, and the third phase for May 25. Sibal argued that there was insufficient evidence against Soren in the case.
The Supreme Court clarified that it would refrain from issuing any orders unless it was convinced on a prima facie basis. Soren had appealed to the apex court after the Jharkhand High Court dismissed his plea contesting his arrest in a money laundering case on May 3. In his plea before the High Court, Soren contended that his arrest had been unjustified and his detention arbitrary and unlawful.
Hemant Soren, represented by advocate Pragya Baghel, denounced his arrest as illegal and motivated by malice. Meanwhile, he sought interim bail. The arrest of the former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Chairperson by the Enforcement Directorate in January in connection with a land scam case had been preceded by considerable speculation in the media. The investigation revolves around substantial sums of illicitly obtained funds generated through the falsification of official records, involving the use of forged documents to acquire extensive land holdings valued at millions of rupees.
