May 13th 2024.
New Delhi: On Monday, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren appealed to the Supreme Court for interim bail in order to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Soren was arrested on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam, after he had resigned from his position as Chief Minister.
A bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta agreed to hear Soren's plea and asked for a response from the Enforcement Directorate by May 17. Soren's lawyer, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, argued that his case was similar to that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was granted interim bail by the court. Sibal requested for interim bail so that Soren could campaign for the elections.
However, the bench stated that they could not grant interim bail without hearing the Enforcement Directorate. Initially, the court had planned to schedule the hearing for May 20, but after Sibal and another senior advocate, Arunabh Chowdhury, pointed out that the elections would be over by then, the court agreed to hear the plea on May 17.
The bench explained that they had a lot of work scheduled for the week and there were many other cases listed before them. Sibal then suggested that the case be either heard during the summer vacation or after the vacation. Justice Khanna responded by saying that May 20 was the earliest date available, and they never give a one-week time frame for such matters.
At first, the bench was not willing to advance the date, but after Sibal persisted with his request, they agreed to list the case for May 17. They clarified that there was no guarantee that they would be able to take up the matter on that day, but they would do their best. Sibal agreed to take the chance and the court proceeded with the hearing.
The bench asked Sibal if Soren was in possession of an 8.86 acre plot of land which he was accused of acquiring illegally. Sibal responded that a person named Raj Kumar Pahan was in possession of the land, but Soren had nothing to do with it.
Soren had appealed to the court against the Jharkhand High Court's order on May 3, which dismissed his petition against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. He had also requested for interim bail until the court delivered its verdict on his plea against his arrest. In his appeal, filed by advocate Praghya Baghel, Soren argued that the high court had made a mistake in dismissing his plea.
Currently, Soren is in judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. The Enforcement Directorate has accused him of generating huge amounts of proceeds of crime by manipulating official records and acquiring large amounts of land through forged and bogus documents.
The focus of the probe against Soren is an 8.86-acre plot of land in Ranchi, which the ED believes was illegally acquired by him. The Supreme Court had previously granted interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal on May 10 in a similar money laundering case, allowing him to campaign for the elections. However, he was not permitted to visit his office or the Delhi secretariat, or sign official files unless absolutely necessary and with the approval of the lieutenant governor.
Today, polling is taking place in four Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand - Khunti, Singhbhum, Lohardaga, and Palamu. The remaining 10 seats will go to polls in the next three phases on May 20, 25, and June 1.
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