May 17th 2024.
The highest court in India, the Supreme Court, has requested the Enforcement Directorate to provide a response by May 20th to the plea of former Jharkhand chief minister, Hemant Soren. Soren is seeking interim bail in a money-laundering case in order to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The bench, comprising of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, has also asked the federal agency to submit a short reply on Soren's plea against his arrest. The matter has been listed before a vacation bench on May 21st.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is representing Soren in the court, stated that if interim bail is granted, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader will surrender on June 2nd. Sibal also emphasized that there is no substantial evidence against Soren in the case and if he is not granted bail, the elections will be over before his case is heard.
Sibal and senior advocate Arunabh Chowdhury, who are also representing Soren in the matter, argued that their client has no connection with the land in question and is not in possession of it. On behalf of the Enforcement Directorate, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju stated that Soren was arrested back in January and has not even appealed against the dismissal of his regular bail application.
Soren was arrested on January 31st in connection with a money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam. He had resigned as the chief minister of Jharkhand at that time. This case is currently being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate.
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