SC seeks ED's response on Soren's plea against arrest
The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Enforcement Directorate's reply by May 17 on the plea of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren against his arrest in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Soren's lawyer, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, sought interim bail plea, adding that the court's order on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal "covers" Soren. The court had granted interim bail to Kejriwal until June 1 to campaign for the upcoming elections.
Why does this story matter?
Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 following allegations of orchestrating a scheme to generate illicit proceeds by manipulating official records and forged documents. This led to his subsequent judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi. Despite challenging his arrest and seeking an urgent hearing due to the imminent conclusion of the general elections, Soren's plea was dismissed by the Jharkhand High Court on May 3.
Matter initially listed for May 20
A bench—comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta—which was initially listing the matter on May 20, had to change the date to May 17 after Sibal said polls would be over by then. The court expressed unwillingness to change the date but after Sibal and senior advocate Arunabh Chowdhury persisted with the request, the date was changed. "We don't know whether we will be able to take up the matter...still we are posting it for May 17," the bench said.
Supreme Court disposes Soren's petition for interim bail
On May 10, the SC disposed Soren's petition seeking interim bail for election campaigning. The court stated that his interim bail petition should be considered along with the petition declaring his arrest as "illegal," due for hearing on Monday. Sibal expressed concern over the timing of events, stating, "Soren was arrested on January 31. We moved the high court on February 4. The high court reserved the judgment on February 28 but did not deliver the judgment."
SC grants interim bail to Kejriwal
On May 10, the SC granted interim bail to Kejriwal till June 1. He has been directed to surrender to the prison authorities by June 2. The Delhi CM was arrested on March 21 by the ED in a money laundering probe linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. According to the bail guidelines, Kejriwal cannot visit the Delhi CM's office and even the Delhi Secretariat.
