Top court to hear Indian opposition leader Hemant Soren's fraud arrest challenge

Former chief minister of Jharkhand accused of being a beneficiary in an alleged land scam

Hemant Soren, former chief minister of Jharkhand, in eastern India, was arrested on Wednesday by federal financial police. Getty Images

India’s Supreme Court is to hear a plea by Hemant Soren, the former chief minister of Jharkhand, challenging his arrest by federal financial police in connection with an alleged land scam.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised Mr Soren’s plea before a bench led by the Chief Justice of India, Dhananjay Chandrachud, for an urgent hearing. The matter has been listed for Friday.

Mr Soren, 48, was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) late on Wednesday, at his office in the state capital of Ranchi, two days after he went missing.

A tribal leader from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha party (JMM), Mr Soren is accused of being a beneficiary of land obtained fraudulently, including through manipulated documents using a network of brokers.

Funds obtained from the fraud allegedly amount to 740 million rupees ($8.9 million) and involves about five hectares of land.

Mr Soren said his arrest was part of a witch hunt against opposition politicians by the federal government run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bhartiya Janata Party.

Mr Soren was interrogated for seven hours before being arrested and will reportedly be held in custody for a week.

“After questioning me for the entire day, they have decided to arrest me in a planned manner, on an issue which is not even linked to me. They have accused me of being the owner of a barren land,” Mr Soren said in a video recorded before his arrest.

“They [the ED] found no evidence, they even tried to tarnish my image by conducting raids in Delhi."

Mr Soren approached the top court on Thursday to challenge his arrest. He evaded ED questioning on at least seven occasions since August last year in the alleged land fraud. At least 14 people have been arrested in the case.

He was questioned on January 20 and the agency again summoned him to appear on January 29, but he went missing from his official residence in Delhi.

The ED seized 3.6 million rupees and a luxury car worth 13 million rupees from his home.

He then appeared at his home in Ranchi, 1,300km away, on Tuesday.

Mr Soren is the latest opposition leader to be accused of corruption and arrested by the federal financial crimes agency that reports to Mr Modi’s government.

Scores of opposition politicians, including former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia remain in prison after the directorate accused him of money laundering in alleged connection to a now-scrapped liquor policy case.

Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and leader of the the state’s ruling Aam Admi Party, has also been summoned by the directorate in the case, with the leader claiming his arrest was imminent before the national elections due by May this year.

Opposition parties have accused Mr Modi’s government of arbitrary use of federal agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate to arrest and launch criminal proceedings against opposition leaders who express dissent or disagree with Mr Modi's government.