Ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren Moves SC, Says HC Not Pronouncing Verdict on His Plea against Arrest

Hemant Soren on Wednesday requested the apex court to urgently hear his plea, alleging delay by the Jharkhand High Court in deciding his petition challenging his arrest by the ED on money laundering charges.

New Delhi: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court, saying the high court is not pronouncing verdict on his plea challenging arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, that the high court had reserved its verdict on February 28 on his plea but still no decision has been delivered. Soren was arrested on January 31 in the case after he resigned as the Jharkhand chief minister, and party loyalist and state transport minister Champai Soren was named as his successor.

He was arrested after being grilled by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for seven hours in the case. The ED is probing the alleged "huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores'.