SC disposes of Hemant Soren's plea seeking interim release

The Supreme Court on Friday disposed of a plea filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking release in view of the elections.

A bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna said that Soren's prayer has become infructuous in view of the May 3 order passed by the Jharkhand High Court dismissing his plea against arrest.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, noted that the subsequent special leave petition filed by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader (challenging the dismissal of his writ petition by the Jharkhand High Court against his arrest in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam), including the prayer for interim relief, is scheduled for hearing on Monday.

On April 29, the top court issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Soren's plea seeking interim bail on the ground of delay in delivery of judgment by the Jharkhand High Court despite reserving an order on his petition challenging ED arrest in the last week of February.

After SC issued notice, the Jharkhand High Court pronounced its decision of May 3 and dismissed Soren's plea, saying that "there is an abundance of documents that lay a foundation for the arrest and remand of the petitioner to police and judicial custody."

Hemant Soren resigned from the Chief Minister's post on January 31, after the ED informed him that it was arresting him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

(With inputs from IANS)