Supreme Court to Hear Hemant Soren’s Interim Release Plea on May 21; Seeks ED’s Response

The vacation bench of the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on May 21 the application filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is currently incarcerated in a money laundering case related to a land scam. Soren is seeking interim release to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The court has requested a response from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) regarding Soren’s application. During the hearing, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing Soren, stated that Soren would surrender on June 2. However, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, opposed this proposal.

The Supreme Court has asked for responses from the ED, with voting scheduled in Jharkhand on May 20, May 25, and June 1. In the previous hearing, the court indicated that it could only proceed after receiving the ED’s reply. Sibal argued that the elections would conclude by then and cited an order related to Arvind Kejriwal to support his case. The petition is being heard by a division bench consisting of Justice Sanjeev Khanna and Justice Dipankar Dutta.

Previously, on May 3, the Jharkhand High Court had rejected Soren’s petition, stating that the ED had sufficient evidence and that Soren’s arrest was justified. Soren subsequently challenged this decision by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court and also requested interim bail to participate in the election campaign.

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Hemant Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with the land scam and is accused of money laundering related to land deals. He is currently in judicial custody at Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi and has sought interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections.