The Supreme Court declined to grant interim bail to Hemant Soren, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam. The court sought the response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by May 17.

Soren had sought temporary bail to participate in campaigning for his party, JMM, in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. He referred to the recent release of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from jail as a precedent.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta heard Soren's plea challenging the May 3 order of the Jharkhand High Court that dismissed his petition against the arrest.

Earlier on May 10, the Supreme Court disposed of Soren's plea seeking a directive to the High Court to deliver its verdict on his petition challenging his arrest by the ED in the money laundering case. The court deemed Soren's petition moot since the High Court had already ruled on May 3, and Soren had appealed the decision to the apex court.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury, representing Soren, were informed by the Bench that the matter had become moot.

In his appeal filed through advocate Praghya Baghel, Soren argued that the High Court had erred in dismissing his plea against the arrest. On May 3, the High Court had rejected his plea and denied him bail in the money laundering case.

Soren was arrested on January 31 in the case following his resignation as Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Champai Soren, a party loyalist and State transport minister, was named his successor. Soren is currently in judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

The ED alleges that Soren amassed significant proceeds of crime by manipulating official records, using dummy sellers and purchasers through forged or bogus documents to acquire valuable land parcels worth crores of rupees.

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