The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren challenging his arrest in an alleged land scam case, Live Law reported.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi told the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha executive president to approach the High Court instead. The bench said he was free to ask that his petition be heard expeditiously.

On Wednesday, Soren resigned as Jharkhand’s chief minister just before the Enforcement Directorate arrested him. The Enforcement Directorate is investigating allegations of money-laundering relating to the land scam in Ranchi.

On Thursday evening, Governor CP Radhakrishnan invited Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Champai Soren to form the new government.

The case against Hemant Soren pertains to an alleged scam linked to the ownership of a 7.16-acre land parcel in Ranchi, which the central law enforcement agency claims was acquired through the “proceeds of crime” involving the illegal sale of Army land.

However, the former chief minister has said that no portion of the land in question is registered in his name or is under his possession, reported LiveLaw. He also accused the central agency of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Centre to target him as he is a member of the Opposition INDIA bloc.

The INDIA bloc is a coalition of 28 Opposition parties that plans to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance in the general elections, due later this year.

The allegations

The central agency accused Hemant Soren of colluding with others, including Sub-Inspector in the Jharkhand Revenue Department Bhanu Pratap Prasad, in concealing original land records.

He was arrested after more than seven hours of questioning by the central agency. A day before his arrest, the Enforcement Directorate had seized Rs 36 lakh in cash and a luxury sports utility vehicle from his Delhi home.

Soren, however, claimed that his arrest was “part of a well orchestrated conspiracy” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The former chief minister also filed a police complaint against four Enforcement Directorate officials on Wednesday under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for carrying out searches at his Delhi home, reported The Hindu.

The politician alleged that the searches were carried out to harass and malign him and the Adivasi community.