New Delhi
In a setback to former Jharkhand Chief Minister, who hoped to get an interim bail like Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected his plea in this regard stating it cannot do so without hearing the Enforcement Directorate, which had arrested him on January 31.
This, after Hemant’s lawyer Kapil Sibal insisted on an urgent hearing of his plea challenging the former CM’s arrest by the ED in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections even as the apex court was inclined to list the matter in July or during the summer vacation, which starts on May 18.
With the Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta initially refusing to consider hearing the matter earlier, Sibal submitted that Hemant’s plea may be then dismissed.
“Then dismiss it. Elections will be over. Kejriwal order covers me,” Sibal said, referring to the recent order granting interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
Sibal further submitted that if the Court did not want to hear the matter before July then Hemant may be granted interim bail However, the Court said it would not do so without hearing the ED.
The Supreme Court later posted the matter on May 17 and issued notice to the ED for its response but expressed doubts about being able to hear it as the case list was heavily loaded. Sibal said he would take a chance.
Hemant has filed the petition challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s judgment which dismissed his challenge to the ED arrest in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
The bench asked Sibalif he was in possession of the subject matter land to which he asserted that Hemant was not in possession of the land. He also maintained that the offence regarding forcible possession of land was not a scheduled offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
However, the Court said that everybody including the person in actual occupation of the land had made a statement that Hemant had possession.
