NEW DELHI: There was no interim relief for former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, as the Supreme Court on Friday did not pass any order on his appeal seeking bail in the money laundering case arising out of an alleged land scam case.
The former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Soren, had moved the top court challenging his arrest in the case after the Jharkhand HC rejected his plea.
Senior lawyer and recently elected President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, pleaded before the court for interim bail so as to to enable him to campaign during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
"I seek bail on parity with Arvind Kejriwal," he told the SC.
To this, the SC observed, "we have to be prima facie, satisfied before giving you any interim relief."
Refusig to pass any interim order, the apex court's two-judge bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, listed Soren's plea in the money-laundering case before a vacation bench which would sit during the upcoming Summer break at the top court on May 21, Tuesday.
The Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), sought more time to respond to the plea, to which the top court allowed.
The Jharkhand High court bench, led by, Acting Chief Justice S Chandrashekhar, who heard the matter, had reserved its verdict on February 28. It pronounced the same on May 3, Friday and rejected Soren's bail plea.
Soren, has been in jail, since he was arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with his alleged involvement in a money laundering case. He, however claimed innocence in the case and said that he was neither involved in money laundering case nor in "any illegal act."