Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, and Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of Jharkhand, have filed appeals against detention by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which the Supreme Court will hear on Monday. According to Live Law, both petitions have been scheduled to appear before the Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta benches.
Arvind Kejriwal has petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn the Delhi High Court’s ruling on April 9, which dismissed his writ suit contesting his ED arrest concerning a money laundering case involving the now-cancelled Delhi tax policy. The head of the Aam Aadmi Party was detained on March 21 and is currently being held. Arvind Kejriwal has submitted his reply to the ED’s counter-affidavit in the case.
Hemant Soren also filed a motion with the Supreme Court on Wednesday, contesting his arrest and requesting relief.
Hemant Soren’s attorney, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, told the Supreme Court bench that although the ruling on Soren’s plea against his arrest has not yet been issued, the Jharkhand High Court has reserved its decision. He requested an urgent hearing because the Lok Sabha elections are still being held. In addition, he told the bench that he would stay in jail after the election.
The Jharkhand High Court postponed a ruling on Hemant Soren’s suit contesting his arrest in February. In his plea before the top court, Soren argued that his remand in the case was unlawful and arbitrary and that his arrest was not merited.
Hemant Soren described his arrest as unlawful and deceptive. He filed the petition via attorney Pragya Baghel and requested temporary bail in the interim.
The Enforcement Department (ED) detained Hemant Soren, the chairperson of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), in January after a protracted period of speculation in the media regarding the land scam case.
The Special PMLA Court in Ranchi denied Hemant Soren’s temporary release on Saturday. To attend his uncle’s burial, the former chief minister requested 13 days of temporary bail from the court.