Supreme Court Disposes of Hemant Soren’s Interim Bail Petition

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s plea for interim bail to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections was disposed of by the Supreme Court on Friday. The court directed that his interim bail petition be considered alongside the petition challenging the legality of his arrest in a money laundering case, scheduled for hearing on Monday.

Hemant Soren, leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam. He had approached the Supreme Court after the Jharkhand High Court rejected his application challenging his arrest and denied him bail.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Mr. Soren, informed a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that the Lok Sabha election polling in Jharkhand would commence on May 13, urging the court to allow Mr. Soren to campaign for his party.

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Sibal highlighted the delay in the high court’s judgment, stating that despite Mr. Soren’s arrest on January 31 and their filing in the high court on February 4, the judgment was reserved until February 28 without being delivered. He expressed concern over the prolonged delay, emphasizing the urgency of Mr. Soren’s need to campaign, especially as the first phase of elections was impending.

Mr. Soren, who resigned as Jharkhand chief minister shortly before his arrest, has been in judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi since January 31.

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Mr. Soren amassed significant proceeds through the manipulation of official records, using dummy sellers and purchasers via forged or bogus documents to acquire valuable land parcels worth crores of rupees.