Ex-CM of Jharkhand Hemant Soren Files a Motion in the SC, Claiming the HC Has Not Rounded Up His Argument Against Arrest

Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of Jharkhand, filed a motion with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, arguing that the court would not rule on his appeal to contest his detention by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

Senior counsel Kapil Sibal, standing on behalf of Soren, informed a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta that the high court had reserved its judgment on February 28 regarding his appeal, but that as of yet, no ruling has been rendered.

Following his resignation as Jharkhand’s chief minister and the appointment of party loyalist and state transport minister Champai Soren as his replacement, Soren was taken into custody on January 31 in connection with the matter. Following a seven-hour interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) about the matter, he was placed under arrest.

Under the cover of forged or fake papers, the ED is looking into claims of “huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores.”