On Friday, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to former Chief Minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.

Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay granted bail to Soren today, accepting his bail application.

Earlier, Justice Mukhopadhyay had declined Soren's plea for interim bail to attend his uncle's funeral rites, citing a lack of exceptional circumstances warranting such relief.

However, today the judge granted his regular bail application.

Soren had resigned as Chief Minister of Jharkhand on January 31 after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the alleged "illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in the state.

Soren has vehemently denied the accusations of money laundering. In a video released shortly before his arrest, he asserted that he was being detained based on "fake papers" as part of a conspiracy against him.

A plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was dismissed by a Division Bench of the High Court on May 3. Earlier, the Supreme Court had declined to directly entertain Soren's plea on this matter and directed him to first approach the Jharkhand High Court.