The Supreme Court on Monday listed former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren’s bail plea for hearing on May 17, and issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate.

Soren, a JMM leader, has sought interim bail on the ground of parity with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been given temporary relief to campaign during the remaining phases of the general election.

Both Soren and Kejriwal were arrested by the ED in money-laundering cases.

The bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta agreed to a hearing on May 17 after considerable persuasion from senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Soren.

Sibal had appeared agitated after Justice Khanna offered to list Soren’s bail
plea for hearing in the week starting May 20, or in July after the court’s summer
vacation.

“Your Lordships may then dismiss the application…. Elections will be over (by July). This is not fair,” Sibal said, stressing that Soren wanted to come out on interim bail to campaign.

The senior counsel said Jharkhand High Court had reserved its verdict on Soren’s bail plea on February 28 and delivered the judgment, rejecting it, only on May 3 --- after he had approached the apex court complaining about the delay.

Sibal said the ED had been served with an advance notice on the plea but had chosen not to appear on Monday.

When the apex court said it would give the shortest (earliest) date -- May 20 -- a visibly annoyed Sibal said: “Then we will withdraw.”

Justice Khanna then said: “We don’t know whether we will be able to take up the matter but still we are posting it for May 17.”

Sibal said he would take a chance on that day and hoped the hearing would conclude that day itself.

Soren faces money-laundering cases in connection with an alleged mining racket and illegal occupation of land.

Asked by the bench whether Soren was in illegal possession of land, Sibal said: “I was never in possession of the land. Have nothing to do with the land. My statement can be recorded.”

He argued that Soren should come out of jail on merits as he is innocent, but that he was for the time being seeking interim bail on a par with Kejriwal to campaign for the general election.

The same bench had ordered Kejriwal released on May 10, setting several conditions and directing him to surrender by June 2, the day after the last date of polling.