Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of Jharkhand, suffered a severe blow when the Supreme Court rejected his request on Friday to have the arrest warrant and summons from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) quashed.
A special bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi asked the 48-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader to approach the Jharkhand High Court.
“It has been SC’s consistent practice that such petitions must be moved before the HC, which is also a constitutional court and open to oneand all,” Justice Khanna said.
The three-judge panel, presided over by Justice Khanna, expressed its opinion that anyone who seeks the SC directly rather than the HC should not be granted bail or have their arrest petition quashed.
“It will send a very wrong signal,” the bench declared, dismissing Sibal’s argument that the SC has discretion over the subject.
