New Delhi: Ex-Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren – arrested in January in a money laundering case – has withdrawn an interim bail plea filed before the Supreme Court after questions over non-disclosure of facts, specifically that a Ranchi special court had taken cognisance of the complaint against him.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mr Soren, withdrew the application after an irate court warned it would otherwise dismiss the plea. This means the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader, who is part of the Congress-led INDIA bloc, will not be able to campaign for the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
Voting for Jharkhand’s 14 seats was spread across four phases. Polling for seven has been completed, with the rest to vote across the sixth and seventh (final) phases – on May 25 and June 1.
What Supreme Court Said To Kapil Sibal Today
In today’s hearing the court – which asked several tough questions of Mr Sibal – also junked a petition challenging Hemant Soren’s arrest; the JMM leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, which has alleged that he, as Chief Minister, ran a scheme to manipulate records, via fictitious transactions and forged documents, to acquire a large tract of land worth several crore rupees.
The court began proceedings today by demanding answers of Mr Sibal after it emerged a bail plea had also been filed before a Ranchi special court that, last week, had rejected the application.
“We need certain clarifications first. You did not tell us you had (already) filed a bail petition. We expected some candour… your client should have told us. You can’t keep material facts from us,” a vacation bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma told the lawyer and his client.
“Your conduct leaves a lot from you…” the court told Mr Sibal, who acknowledged the error as his “personal responsibility… and not my client”, and stressed, “… I am not misleading the court.”
The court, however, was in no mood to back down.
“Why is it that none of the petitions mention cognisance (by the special court) has been taken?” Justice Datta asked of Mr Sibal, and then declared, “You take your chances elsewhere.”
What Was “Non-Disclosure Of Facts”?
Last month the Jharkhand High Court dismissed Mr Soren’s plea challenging his arrest; it pointed to an “abundance of documents that lay foundation for the arrest and remand of petitioner”.
This was after the Supreme Court issued a notice to the central agency and sought its response to an interim bail plea filed before it on grounds the High Court was delaying delivery of its judgement.
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