Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the Enforcement Directorate's plea challenging a Jharkhand high court order granting him bail in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

Speaking to the reporters, Soren emphasised the importance of upholding the rule of law, stating that his imprisonment had been orchestrated under false pretences aimed at tarnishing his and his family's reputation.

"I was incarcerated as if I had absconded with the state's assets... Blame was systematically laid upon the Soren family," he asserted.

"The court of law is supreme, it is democracy's pillar where there is no darkness but some groups are engaged in wasting its time and harass people working for society without any reason," he added.

Expressing gratitude for the Supreme Court's verdict, which upheld the Jharkhand High Court's June 28 order, Soren criticised efforts to stifle voices advocating for marginalised communities.

The apex court said the HC's order granting bail to Soren was a "very well reasoned judgment".

"We are not inclined to interfere with the impugned order," a bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan said.

He lamented the wasted time during his five-month imprisonment, noting that many issues could have been addressed had this period not been lost.

Kalpana, Soren's wife and a legislator, welcomed the apex court’s decision as a victory for truth. She questioned the impact of her husband's five-month ordeal, calling attention to the lost time that could have been used to serve the people.

Soren, the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), had resigned as chief minister shortly before the ED arrested him on January 31 in the case. After coming out of jail on bail in the case, he returned as the CM on July 4.

The case involved allegations that Soren misused his position as chief minister to unlawfully acquire 8.86 acres in Ranchi's Bargain area.

Despite vehement opposition to his bail plea by the Enforcement Directorate, which alleged manipulation of official records, Soren's legal team argued that he was falsely implicated in the case.

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