• Source:JND
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The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the bail plea of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren as the latter continues to serve a jail sentence in a money laundering case linked with an alleged land scam case. Soren cited Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s example asserting that he too needs an interim bail to campaign for his political party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. Notably, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal was recently released from Tihar Jail on the aforementioned grounds.

Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta heard Soren's petition challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the allegations of money laundering. The court's ruling followed the dismissal of Soren's previous petition against his arrest by the Jharkhand High Court on May 3.

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The JMM chief’s lawyers-- Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury sought an urgent hearing of the matter owing to the imminent conclusion of the Lok Sabha polls. The court, however, posed the matter for hearing on May 17, denying any immediate relief to Soren.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged Soren, during his tenure as chief minister, devised a plan to generate illegal profits by tampering with official records, which included fictitious transactions and forged documents to obtain valuable land worth crores of rupees. Following his arrest on January 31, the JMM leader was remanded to judicial custody at the Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.

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Kejriwal Gets Interim Bail:

The Supreme Court bench, consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, granted interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal until June 1. Kejriwal had been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi Liquor Policy case on March 21, shortly after the Election Commission declared the Lok Sabha election schedule. Before reaching their decision, the Supreme Court bench listened to arguments presented by lawyers representing both Kejriwal and the ED.