Supreme Court refuses to Intervene in Hemant Soren’s ED Arrest, Directs Him to Approach High Court

In a setback for former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Supreme Court on Friday declined to interfere with his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case. The court directed Soren to approach the high court for relief.

A special bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh, and Bela M Trivedi rejected the plea by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, representing Soren, urging the court’s intervention.

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Sibal argued, “In these kinds of cases, this court needs to send a message. Here, we are dealing with a chief minister who has been arrested. Please see the evidence. This is not fair.”

Justice Khanna responded, “First, the courts are open to everybody. Second, high courts are also constitutional courts. If we permit one person to approach the apex court, then we will have to permit everyone.”

Sibal, Singhvi, and Arunabh Chowdhury argued for the exercise of the court’s discretion, but Justice Khanna referred to a previous order by another bench, including Justice Trivedi, which directed Soren to move the high court in a matter related to the challenge to the ED’s summons.

The bench advised Soren to approach the high court, stating, “You approach the high court. Initially, you filed this petition on the basis that notice under section 50 of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) has been issued. Now, an amendment application has been filed since he has been arrested.”

Sibal acknowledged that Soren had already filed a writ petition before the Jharkhand High Court, which is pending. The bench ordered, “We are informed that the petitioner has already preferred a writ petition before the Jharkhand High Court, which is still pending. It will also be open to him to ask for expeditious listing and disposal of the case.”

Justice Khanna clarified that the high court would hear Soren when pressed for expeditious disposal. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the ED, noted the special bench constituted by the apex court to hear Soren’s petition and highlighted the benefits afforded to him.

Sibal responded, “They are trying to topple this government, that’s a fact.”

Soren had approached the Supreme Court, accusing the ED of arresting him as part of a “well-orchestrated conspiracy” by the Centre ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The high court had refused to grant him relief on Thursday, citing the need to hear the ED before passing any ex-parte order. Soren was arrested on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged “illegal” possession of land.

In his plea before the Supreme Court, Soren urged the declaration of his arrest as unwarranted, arbitrary, and in violation of his fundamental rights. He alleged that his arrest was illegal, malafide, and without jurisdiction, emphasizing its timing as he had resigned as chief minister. The plea claimed that the ED’s action was initiated at the behest of the central government to topple the democratically elected government.