After Arvind Kejriwal, Will Ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren Get Interim Bail?

New Delhi: Much against Enforcement Directorate’s wish, Supreme Court the other day granted interim bail to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal so that he could campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.

That has given hope to former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on January 31 in an alleged land scam case.

Even as a special PMLA court in Ranchi rejected Soren’s bail plea, Supreme Court on Monday gave ED three days to respond to a petition filed by the former Jharkhand CM challenging his arrest.

The fact that the top court agreed to an expedited hearing in the matter due to the elections has made Soren supporters optimistic.

Jharkhand will vote in four phases, the first of which was on May 13. The next three phases of polling are on May 20, May 25 and June 1.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta set the next date in the Soren case for May 17 after a vehement appeal by senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who is representing Soren.

Sibal emphasised the need for parity with Kejriwal, who has been allowed to campaign before surrendering on Jiune 2.

“Kejriwal’s order covers me completely,” Sibal made the point on Soren’s behalf.

The Supreme Court was initially thinking of putting the matter before a vacation bench on May 20, reported Hindustan Times.

Sibal, however, pressed for a quicker date and a hearing before the same bench, highlighting the urgency of the matter because of ongoing elections.

Sibal said that if the top court was not inclined to fast-track Soren’s matter, it should consider granting him interim bail so that he can participate effectively in the elections.

Supreme Court said it can’t pass such an order without hearing the ED, and acceded to Sibal’s request to fix the next hearing during this week itself.