Supreme Court adjourns Hemant Soren's bail plea, to hear case on May 22

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's bail plea, refusing to grant bail. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said it will hear the plea on May 22 after hearing the case for an hour.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Soren cited the case of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and asked the court to release the JMM leader him to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed Soren’s bail plea on May 20. In its affidavit, the ED argued that evidence establishes Soren's involvement in the illegal acquisition and possession of properties. The ED argued that campaigning for election was neither a fundamental, constitutional, nor a legal right.


The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on May 10 on grounds of election campaign. He was arrested by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case.

Soren was arrested on January 31 in the money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam after he resigned as the Jharkhand chief minister.

Earlier, Jharkhand High Court rejected Soren's plea challenging arrest on May 3. Following the judgement, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha president moved the Supreme Court last week.

(With inputs from agencies)