New Delhi, May 13
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on former Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren’s petition challenging his arrest in a money-laundering case linked to a land scam.
A Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta asked the ED to respond to Soren’s petition by May 17, the next date of hearing.
Initially, the Bench was not inclined to take up the matter before May 20 but it agreed to list it on May 17 after senior counsel Kapil Sibal submitted on behalf of Soren that the whole exercise would become infructuous if there was delay in deciding the petition as the Lok Sabha election would be over.
Sibal sought to emphasise that Soren’s prayer for release was covered by the top court’s May 10 order granting a three-week interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
Polling for 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand is scheduled to be held in four phases — May 13 (4 seats), May 20 (3 seats), May 25 (4 seats) and June 1 (three seats).
Earlier, Justice Khanna asked Sibal if Soren was in possession of the land in question.
“I was never in possession of the land… I have nothing to do with the land. This statement can be recorded,” Sibal told the Bench.
Soren has challenged the May 3 order of the Jharkhand High Court dismissing his petition against the arrest.
He has also sought interim bail for campaigning in the Lok Sabha election till the court delivers its verdict on his plea against arrest.
Soren was arrested on January 31 in the case after he resigned as Jharkhand chief minister, and party loyalist and state transport minister Champai Soren was named his successor.
Soren is lodged in judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. The ED has alleged that “huge amounts of proceeds of crime” were generated by Soren through manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores of rupees.
On May 10, the Bench had disposed of his petition seeking a direction to the high court to deliver its verdict on his petition challenging his arrest by the ED in a money-laundering case as it had become infructuous in view of the fact that the high court delivered its judgement on May 3 and the JMM leader had already challenged it in the top court.
Soren has contended that the high court erred in dismissing his plea against the arrest.
