The Delhi High Court on Monday stayed the Lokpal proceedings against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo and Rajya Sabha MP Shibu Soren in a disproportionate assets (DA) case.
Justice Yashwant Varma also issued a notice to Lokpal as well as Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey in the matter while staying the proceedings till the next hearing on December 14.
Soren was knocking the doors of the high court challenging the proceedings and order of preliminary inquiry to the CBI on the basis of jurisdiction as per the Lokpal order of August 4.
He also challenged another Lokpal order in relation to a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against him.
As per the Lokpal order, it granted a time extension to the respondent (Soren) on several occasions to file his reply and required documents were also provided, and the reply was finally submitted on April 4 this year. Accordingly, Lokpal directed the CBI to examine the reply and submit an inquiry report.
Previously, the Lokpal had issued notice and summoned him on August 25 in a disproportionate assets case.
The complaint was filed on August 5, 2020, that Shibu Soren and his family members have amassed huge wealth, disproportionate to their "known and declared sources of income" through unscrupulous means.
In his plea, Soren said the allegations levelled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey are mischievous, false, and frivolous.
"No instance of even a single specific purported act of corruption is alleged in the complaint. The complaint is devoid of any particulars whatsoever and is a rambling yarn spun by the Respondent No.2, (Dubey) a disgruntled and unsuccessful political opponent of the petitioner and his party, which has formed the government in the State of Jharkhand pursuant to the Assembly elections held in 2019," his plea read.
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