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The Supreme Court on Friday disposed of a petition filed by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking interim bail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said that Soren's petition will be taken up along with another plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case.
Soren was arrested on January 31 by the ED in connection with an alleged land scam and is currently in judicial custody.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Soren, told the court that the first phase of polling for the Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand will commence on May 13 and that the JMM leader should be allowed to campaign for his party.
However, the bench declined to grant interim bail to Soren, saying that his plea will be considered along with the petition challenging his arrest.
The ED has alleged that Soren generated huge amounts of proceeds of crime through manipulation of official records to acquire parcels of land worth crores of rupees.
Soren has denied the allegations and has moved the Supreme Court against the Jharkhand High Court order dismissing his plea challenging his arrest.
Source: Supreme Court Disposes Of Hemant Soren's Petition Seeking Interim Bail