SC gives ED 3 days to respond to Soren’s plea against arrest
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Enforcement Directorate (ED) three days to respond to a petition filed by former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren against his arrest in an alleged land scam, agreeing to an expedited hearing in the matter due to the general elections.
A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta set the next date for May 17 following a vehement appeal by senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who represented Soren, emphasising the need for parity with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Jailed in connection with a money laundering case, Kejriwal was on May 10 granted interim bail for political campaigning during Lok Sabha polls. “Kejriwal’s order covers me completely,” highlighted Sibal, demanding continuity of Soren’s political involvement in campaigning, especially in the light of the precedent set by the recent interim bail granted to Kejriwal.
Initially, the bench was setting down the matter before a vacation bench on May 20, but Sibal pressed for a shorter date and a hearing before the same bench, highlighting the urgency of the matter due to the ongoing polls. Sibal even went so far as to say that if the bench postponed the hearing to a later time, he might think about withdrawing the petition.
“Elections will be over. Why should I be prejudiced? This court sent us to the high court. The high court did not deliver its order for more than two months. That’s not our fault... Great injustice has been done to me. This is unfair,” he said.
He added that if the bench were not inclined to fast-track Soren’s matter, it should consider granting him interim bail, allowing him to participate effectively in the elections. But the bench said that it cannot pass such an order without hearing ED.
However, the bench acceded to Sibal’s plea to fix the next hearing in the current week itself.