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The Supreme Court of India is scheduled to hear pleas by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on May 17, 2023, challenging their arrests by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Both pleas are listed before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta. The apex court had earlier refused interim bail to Soren to campaign for the Lok Sabha polls but agreed to list his plea to quash his arrest by the ED in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a land scam.
The ED had arrested Soren on January 31, 2023, after he submitted his resignation as the Chief Minister. He was questioned for several hours at his official residence in Ranchi prior to his arrest.
In the case of Kejriwal, the Supreme Court had granted him interim bail on May 10, 2023, to allow him to campaign in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The court had rejected the ED's contention that releasing Kejriwal on interim bail would create an impression among the public that politicians were above the law.
However, in the last hearing, the ED informed the court that a complaint against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was in the pipeline and that there was direct evidence of Kejriwal demanding a bribe of ₹100 crore as kickbacks in the liquor policy case.
Kejriwal has questioned the timing of his arrest, alleging that it was politically motivated and that the ED was acting as a tool of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre.
The Delhi High Court had earlier upheld Kejriwal's arrest, finding that there was adequate material, including statements of approvers and involvement of middlemen, to suggest that he had accepted cash for expenditure in the 2022 Goa elections.
The outcome of the Supreme Court hearings on May 17, 2023, will be closely watched as it could have implications for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections and the future of Kejriwal and Soren's political careers.