The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking a directive to the Supreme Court to pass judgment on his petition seeking arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case disputed. The plea became fruitless after the Supreme Court delivered its verdict on May 3, upholding Hemant Soren's arrest.
“This has become futile,” a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta told senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury, appearing for Hemant Soren.
The JMM leader has already challenged the Supreme Court order and the apex court will hear the matter on May 13.
Hemant Soren has also sought interim bail for his campaign in the Lok Sabha elections until the Supreme Court decides on his plea against arrest. Kapil Sibal said the Supreme Court will hear this plea along with the appeal against the high court's order on May 13.
'Forget that he is a former prime minister. I (Soren) as a citizen have the right to be treated fairly by the Supreme Court,” Sibal said.
“You have challenged the high court order in another petition. There you argue,” the court said while rejecting his plea.
Hemant Soren's arrest
Hemant Soren was arrested on January 31 this year in a money laundering case related to land scam. After his arrest, he resigned as Chief Minister of Jharkhand, and his loyalist Champai Soren was appointed as the new CM.
The Enforcement Directorate is investigating the alleged “huge amounts of crime proceeds generated through manipulation of official documents by showing fake sellers and buyers under the guise of forged/fake documents that they can acquire huge plots of land worth millions” .
In his plea, Hemant Soren outlined a pattern and said this is reflected in the ED's actions to prosecute and attack individuals, especially political leaders belonging to the opposition, on 'trumped up charges'.
In his petition, Soren accused the ED of acting with the malafide intention of paralyzing the leaders of opposition political parties.
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Published: May 10, 2024 2:30 PM IST