Hemant Soren has appealed to the Supreme Court after his plea contesting his arrest by the ED was dismissed.

In a recent turn of events, former Chief Minister Hemant Soren has taken his case to the Supreme Court on Monday after the Jharkhand High Court dismissed his appeal against the Enforcement Directorate's arrest. The case revolves around allegations of money laundering and an alleged land scam.

Represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, Soren appeared before a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, seeking an urgent listing of his plea. Sibal argued that with the Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand fast approaching, it is crucial for Soren to be allowed to campaign for his party JMM.

Soren was arrested on January 31 and the high court reserved its judgment on February 28, but did not deliver it. The delay in the judgment prompted Sibal to approach the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution. However, the high court delivered its judgment rejecting his plea after the notice was issued by the apex court. Sibal expressed his disappointment over the delay and stated that it is unfortunate that Soren's rights are being violated in such a manner.

The bench, which also included Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, assured Sibal that they will consider his request and that Soren's plea for interim bail will be heard on May 7. Sibal further requested for his appeal against the high court's verdict to be listed along with the bail plea.

The Jharkhand High Court had previously dismissed Soren's writ petition challenging his arrest and denied bail to him. He is currently in judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi after his 13-day custody with the Enforcement Directorate ended on February 15.

The Supreme Court had earlier sought a response from the Enforcement Directorate on Soren's interim bail plea. The agency has alleged that Soren has acquired huge parcels of land worth crores of rupees through manipulation of official records with the help of dummy sellers and purchasers using forged documents.

Soren's arrest came just before he resigned as the Jharkhand chief minister and his loyalist and state transport minister Champai Soren was named as his successor. This development took place just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections on March 16.

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