India National News

Supreme Court Refused To Consider Bail Petition From Hemant Soren

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court refused to consider the bail petition from Hemant Soren, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, who challenged his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. Soren’s legal team decided to withdraw the petition after the court expressed doubts about its validity.

A vacation bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma criticized Soren’s lawyers, saying they had hidden important facts and did not present the case honestly.

The bench decided not to consider Soren’s bail plea because he had filed two separate petitions—one challenging his arrest and another seeking bail—without mentioning that the trial court had already acknowledged the charges against him.

Justice Datta remarked. “You are seeking parallel remedies and hiding the facts,” 

Responding to senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s arguments for Soren, the bench said, “This is not how you should approach this court without revealing important facts. Your behaviour is questionable. We expected honesty from your client, but you hid key information.”

The investigation against Hemant Soren involves an 8.86-acre plot of land in Ranchi, which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims he acquired illegally. The ED alleges that Soren generated large amounts of illegal money by manipulating official records, using fake documents and dummy buyers and sellers to acquire valuable land worth crores of rupees.

In its affidavit, the ED stated that Soren was trying to undermine the investigation by misusing state resources. The ED opposed his special request for interim bail to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections.

The agency noted that Soren’s arrest on January 31 was upheld by the Jharkhand High Court, and his regular bail application was rejected by the trial court on May 13.

On May 13, Soren pointed to the Supreme Court’s order granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped excise policy and requested similar relief for himself. In his appeal, the JMM leader argued that the high court made a mistake in dismissing his plea.

Soren is currently in judicial custody at Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

 

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