New Delhi: Supreme Court on Wednesday, declined to entertain former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Sorens petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with an alleged land scam. The court also reprimanded Soren for withholding the fact that he had already filed a bail plea before a trial court.Court denies interim bail for campaigningA vacation bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma refused to grant interim bail to Soren, which he had sought in order to campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The court noted that Sorens conduct was not above reproach, as he had failed to disclose the fact that he had already approached a trial court for bail.Sorens plea withdrawnSenior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Soren, withdrew the application after the court indicated it would dismiss the plea. This development effectively prevents the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader from campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Your conduct tells a lot. We expected your client to come up with candour but you suppressed material facts, the court remarked.Comparison with Arvind Kejriwals caseOn Tuesday, the Supreme Court questioned how Soren could challenge the validity of his ED arrest after a Jharkhand trial court had found prima facie evidence of money laundering against him. The court pointed out the differences between Sorens case and that of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was granted interim bail in a money laundering case to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections. Unlike Soren, Kejriwal had not sought regular bail from a trial court, nor was there any judicial order of cognisance against him in the Delhi excise policy case.Trial courts findingsThe bench noted that a Jharkhand trial court had taken cognisance of offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on prima facie incriminating materials against Soren. Once cognisance has been taken, one judicial forum has applied its mind and reached a conclusion that prima facie there are materials justifying your arrest. In such a scenario, will another court look into the same materials There is a judicial decision, and you need to satisfy us that after such an order, this court can still look into materials, the bench told Sibal.Probing questions on ED arrestAs the top court heard Sorens plea challenging his January arrest by the ED, it posed probing questions to his legal team regarding the validity of his challenge, especially in light of the judicial order taking cognisance of the offences under PMLA. The court emphasized that the April 4 order of the Jharkhand court was based on its prima facie satisfaction of the existence of incriminating material linked to Soren.
