A double bench of the Delhi High Court has rejected the appeal filed by Rajya Sabha MP and former Chief Minister of Jharkhand Shibu Soren to quash Lokpal proceedings against him in a disproportionate assets case. The bench of Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar rejected the appeal, which challenged the single-judge order.
The court in its order said that the Lokpal is still to decide whether a prima facie case exists against Soren for ordering investigation. Thus, it said that the appeal filed by Soren was premature and meritless and dismissed the writ petition.
Notably, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had alleged that former Chief Minister of Jharkhand and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren had amassed huge wealth and assets over more than 10 years through corrupt practices misusing his position.
Soren had first approached the Delhi High Court in August 2022 challenging the Lokpal proceedings, which were to determine whether a prima facie case exists to proceed against him. He stated in his plea that based on a complaint in August 2020 Lokpal proceedings were initiated and despite the CBI registering a preliminary enquiry in July 2021 against him, his wife and children, he was not served the copy of the complaint till February 2022.
Soren had termed the allegations levelled by the BJP MP as frivolous and false and motivated to implicate him in a false case by the BJP.
Earlier, in January 2024, a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court had also held Soren’s plea as premature and had rejected his petition.
The Lokpal will now proceed in the case and will find out whether a prima facie case exists against the JMM MP for amassing assets more than his known sources of income.
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