On Friday, the Supreme Court sought the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) response by May 20 to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's plea for interim bail. Soren seeks bail to participate in campaigning for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, as he is currently involved in a money-laundering case.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta instructed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to submit a brief response to Hemant Soren's plea challenging his arrest. The matter has been scheduled for a hearing before a vacation bench on May 21.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Hemant Soren, informed the court that if granted interim bail, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader will surrender on June 2.

"There is no material against me in the case. Elections will be over if not granted interim bail," Sibal said.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Arunabh Chowdhury, representing Hemant Soren, asserted that the JMM leader is not in possession of the land in question and has no involvement with it.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED), stated that Soren was arrested long ago and has not challenged the dismissal of his regular bail application. Soren was arrested on January 31 in connection with a money-laundering case related to an alleged land scam, following his resignation as the Jharkhand chief minister.