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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday will hear the plea of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren challenging the delay by the state high court in pronouncing the verdict on his petition, which contested his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.A two-judge bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta will hear the JMM leader’s plea.Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the JMM leader, brought up the matter before the Supreme Court bench on Wednesday. The bench assured him of listing the matter as soon as possible, although a date for hearing the plea was not provided by the court.Pleading to the apex court for an urgent hearing, Sibal had said that he moved a plea under Article 32 of the Indian Constitution in the matter. “We had approached the Jharkhand HC, challenging the arrest. The matter is heard on Feb 27–28, and the judgement, which is reserved, has not been delivered yet. The man (Soren) is now inside the jail and if it will be like this, then the elections may be over. If we say something more, then it will be like we are attacking the judiciary,” Sibal had said.However, Justice Khanna said he cannot say anything on the listing of the petition and the Chief Justice of India secretariat will give the date for listing of the plea. “Just give the details; it will be done. Today or tomorrow, you will get the date for listing of the matter,” the bench said.Sibal had submitted on their plea that this court direct the high court to pronounce the verdict and then the judgement will be rendered.Notably, Article 32 of the Indian Constitution grants citizens the right to directly petition the Supreme Court for the enforcement of their fundamental rights.Meanwhile, in another development in the case, Soren’s bail plea was rejected by a PMLA Court in Ranchi on Saturday. The former CM had sought interim bail of 13 days from the court to attend the funeral of his uncle, Raja Ram Soren, but the court refused to grant him bail. His other plea seeking regular bail is also scheduled to be heard on May 1 by a court in Ranchi.The Jharkhand HC bench, led by acting chief justice S Chandrashekhar, who heard the matter, had reserved its verdict on February 28.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 has continued to maintain his innocence in the case and said that he was neither involved in money laundering nor in “any illegal act.”
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SC to hear ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s plea against ED arrest on April 29
