The Supreme Court on April 29, Monday issued a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren challenging his arrest in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

In his latest plea filed before the apex court, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader has sought interim bail on the ground of delay in delivery of judgment by the Jharkhand High Court despite reserving an order on his petition challenging ED arrest in the last week of February.

Agreeing to examine Soren’s special leave petition, a bench presided over by Justice Sanjiv Khanna asked the anti-money laundering agency to file its reply on the matter. “It will be open to the high court to pronounce the orders from the judgment which was reserved on February 28, 2024,” clarified the Bench, also comprising Justice Dipankar Datta. The matter is ordered to be listed in the week commencing May 6.

Hemant Soren resigned from the Chief Minister's post on January 31, after the ED informed him that it was arresting him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Earlier, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain the plea filed by Soren directly before the apex court and asked him to approach the jurisdictional high court to challenge his arrest.