New Delhi, India – Hemant Soren, former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, withdrew his interim bail plea from the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The decision came after a Vacation Bench questioned why he had not disclosed that the Special Court had already taken cognisance of the complaint by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
“Tell us why was this not mentioned anywhere that cognisance has been taken. Why was cognisance not disclosed,” asked the Vacation Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra, addressing senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represented Soren.
Soren’s petition before the Supreme Court challenged his arrest by the ED in a money laundering case involving a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand. He was arrested on January 31.
During Tuesday’s hearing, the court pressed Sibal to justify whether the validity of the arrest could be examined despite the trial court taking cognisance of the ED complaint and rejecting a regular bail application on behalf of Soren. The Bench indicated reluctance to entertain Soren’s plea, highlighting that he pursued parallel remedies by filing two separate pleas—one challenging his arrest and another seeking bail—without disclosing that the trial court had taken cognisance of the offence.
Soren had sought interim bail to campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, currently underway. On Monday, the ED opposed any “special treatment” for him. Voting on 14 Lok Sabha seats in Jharkhand is spread across four phases. Polling for seven seats has been completed, with the remaining constituencies to vote in the last two phases on May 25 and June 1.
Responding to Soren’s plea, the ED asserted that he is “highly influential” and alleged that there was an “active attempt on the part of the petitioner to subvert the investigation by misusing state machinery and to project the proceeds of crime as untainted”.
