New Delhi, Feb 1 : In his petition filed before the Supreme Court, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren termed his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of a 'well-orchestrated conspiracy' ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

Terming the arrest as 'illegal', the plea filed by Soren alleged that the ED officials abused their powers for extraneous considerations under the dictates of the Central government as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is a prominent opposition party and an active constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc.

'The arrest is part of a well-orchestrated conspiracy, which has been given shape at the anvil of the general elections slated in a few months,' it said.

The petition filed directly before the Supreme Court said the entire proceedings by the ED are without jurisdiction and the petitioner should be released by setting aside the illegal and arbitrary arrest.

As per the details published on the website of the apex court, Soren's plea will be heard on Friday by a special bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, M.M. Sundresh and Bela M. Trviedi.

The top court listed the matter for February 2 after senior advocate Kapil Sibala made an urgent mentioning before a bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI), D.Y. Chandrachud.

Soren tendered his resignation to the Governor on Wednesday, after the ED, which was questioning the Chief Minister at his residence since the afternoon, informed him that it was arresting him in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

/IANS