SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Sept 25: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its verdict in a case related to the Lokpal of India’s investigation against Jharkhand Mukti Morcha supremo and Rajya Sabha MP Shibu Soren.
This case is related to Shibu Soren’s alleged amassing of assets beyond his income. In this case, investigation proceedings were initiated by the Lokpal of India, against which Soren had filed a petition in the Delhi High Court.
Earlier, while hearing this petition, the court had stayed the proceedings initiated against him by the Lokpal of India. At present, this ban remains in place till the court’s decision. On Monday, a single of Justice Subramaniam Prasad completed the hearing. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Pragya Singh Baghel argued on behalf of Soren, while Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta argued on behalf of Lokpal.
What is the case?
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had filed a complaint stating that Shobu Soren has amassed disproportionate assets in his name before the Lokpal on August 5 2020.
Dubey, in his petition, said that Soren and his family members have bought many properties from the money earned through corruption and misuse of the Jharkhand’s government treasury. These also include many benami residential and commercial properties.
Hearing his complaint, the Full Bench of Lokpal on September 15, 2020 directed the CBI to register a PE (Preliminary Inquiry) in the case under Section 20 (1) (A) of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 and submit the report within six months.
After investigating the case, the CBI had submitted a report to the Lokpal in March 2021 and subsequently on July 1, 2021, giving complete details of the assets of the Soren family and their income tax returns.
On the basis of this, the Lokpal had sent a notice to Shibu Soren and his family members seeking their opinion. After this, in the light of the response received from the Soren family members, the CBI filed the final PE report with the Lokpal on June 29 last year.
In this, the CBI has said that Soren and his family members have created many benami properties more than the known and declared sources of income. The Lokpal had said in his order that on the basis of perusal of the detailed report of CBI, it has been found that proceedings under Section 20(3) should be initiated in this case. In this connection, a notice was issued to Shibu Soren by the Lokpal.
Later, Shibu Soren challenged the preliminary investigation proceedings and order of CBI on the basis of jurisdiction in the Delhi High Court which stayed the proceedings.
Soren, in his petition, stated that the corruption complaint was “motivated by political vendetta and in the view of the provisions of the Lokpal Act, the authority cannot act on allegations made seven years after the alleged offence has been committed”.
Soren said in his petition, “In the list of assets filed with the complaint on the basis of which the impugned proceedings have been registered, the date of alleged acquisition of the properties by the Petitioner range from the years 1990 till 2009 and the latest alleged acquisition is of 20.07.2009, which would show that the alleged offence, if at all, forming the subject matter of the Complaint is hopelessly barred by limitation and beyond the jurisdiction of the [Lokpal] under Section 53 of the Lokpal & Lokayuktas Act, 2013.”
