Shibu Soren’s appeal against Lokpal dismissed by Delhi HC

Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed an appeal filed by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Sibu Soren against an order refusing to interfere with the proceedings initiated against him by the Lokpal on the basis of a complaint by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

A division bench of justices Rekha Palli and Rajnish Bhatnagar said there was no reason to interfere with the order of the single-judge bench that held that Soren’s petition was premature.

“The appeal being meritless is, accordingly, dismissed with all accompanying applications,” the court said.

The bench was hearing the appeal filed by Soren, a Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, challenging the January 22 order of the HC’s single-judge bench that rejected the former Jharkhand CM’s petition against the Lokpal proceedings and the complaint.

The bench said from the specific allegations levelled by the complainant, it is evident that the complaint pertains not only to purchasing properties, which Soren claimed were bought ove seven years ago, but also relates to “ongoing incidents of amassing wealth by misuse of power by the appellant”.

“In the light of the allegations, we are unable to accept the appellant’s plea that it was a fit case where the respondent no. 1 (Lokpal) ought to have, at the very first instance, rejected the complaint as being barred by limitation,” it said.

In the plaint made in August 2020, Dubey, alleged Soren and his family “acquired huge wealth and properties by misusing the public exchequer and grossly indulged in corruption”.