Hemant Soren Moves Supreme Court Against ED Arrest While Tensions Mount In Jharkhand Due To Uncertainty Over Swearing In

Supreme Court is set to hear former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren's plea against his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday (2 February).

Representing Soren, lawyers Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi sought an urgent hearing on the matter on Thursday, a day after Soren was arrested by the probe agency.

Earlier, Soren was known to have filed a writ petition in Jharkhand High Court against ED summons. But after his arrest, he withdrew the plea from HC and moved the SC.

Sibal expressed apprehension over opposition leaders getting arrested and said, "How can a man be arrested like this... The arrest memo says 10 o' clock, they say arrested at 5 pm. A very serious matter."

Soren submitted his resignation when he was in ED's custody after facing seven hours-long grilling. The law enforcement agency arrested him soon after the governor accepted his resignation.

Champai Soren, a minister in the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) government, is likely to take over as the next Chief Minister of the state.

However, Governor CP Radhakrishnan has not indicated if and when he will swear-in the new government.

Meanwhile, rumours of a serious rift within the JMM and defection by MLAs belonging to both the JMM and the Congress are doing the rounds, adding to the political tension and uncertainty prevailing in the state.