The Supreme Court on Friday (May 17) refused to consider the plea of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for interim bail in the money laundering case for the purposes of election campaigning.

The bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta directed the listing of the matter before a vacation bench of the Supreme Court next Tuesday (May 21). Soren has approached the Supreme Court against the Jharkhand High Court's dismissal of his petition challenging the arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged land scam on January 31.

The former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Soren, had moved the top court challenging his arrest in the case after the Jharkhand HC rejected his plea.

Senior lawyer and recently elected President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, pleaded before the court for interim bail so as to enable him to campaign during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

"I seek bail on parity with Arvind Kejriwal," he told the SC.

Last week the Supreme Court directed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to be released from judicial custody till 1 June 2024. The Aam Aadmi Party leader was arrested on 21 March 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate for his alleged involvement in the Delhi Liquor Policy case. Kejriwal will return to custody on 2 June, two days prior to the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. 

The court, however, barred him from visiting his office or the Delhi secretariat, and signing official files unless absolutely necessary for obtaining the lieutenant governor's approval.

On Hemant’s bail plea the SC observed, "we have to be prima facie, satisfied before giving you any interim relief."

Refusig to pass any interim order, the apex court's two-judge bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, listed Soren's plea in the money-laundering case before a vacation bench which would sit during the upcoming Summer break at the top court on May 21, Tuesday

The Jharkhand High court bench, led by Acting Chief Justice S Chandrashekhar, who heard the matter, had reserved its verdict on February 28. It pronounced the same on May 3, Friday and rejected Soren's bail plea.

Soren has been in jail, since he was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with his alleged involvement in a money laundering case. He, however, claimed innocence in the case and said that he was neither involved in the money laundering case nor in "any illegal act."