Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and his family members must have felt relieved following the stay order passed by the Delhi High Court today on Lokpal’s proceedings against his father Shibu Soren and other family members’ disproportionate assets case.

The single judge Justice Yashwant Verma stayed the proceedings and issued notice to Lokpal as well as BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

The court has directed them to file their responses by December 14 when the case will be taken up next. 

Shibu Soren had approached the court challenging the proceedings before Lokpal and its orders dated August 4, 2022 through which proceedings were directed to be initiated to determine whether a prima facie case exists to proceed against him.

The plea argued that this order has been passed without considering Soren’s objection that no inquiry can be conducted against him because the complaint has been filed more than seven years after the alleged incident and Section 53 of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act 2013 debars such investigation after expiry of the limitation period. .

The plea further said that proceedings before Lokpal have been registered pursuant to a complaint dated August 5, 2020 and although the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) commenced preliminary enquiry sometime in July 2021 against Soren, his wife and their children including Basant Soren,MLA and Hemant Soren who is the CM of Jharkhand, no copy of the Complaint dated was provided to the Petitioner till the end of February 2022, the petition stated.

Soren has also challenged the Lokpal’s order of September 2020 through which the Lokpal directed CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry against Soren and submit a report.

The allegations against Soren are that he has over a period of more than 10 years amassed huge wealth, properties and assets by adopting unscrupulous and corrupt means in the State of Jharkhand. 

The assets, it is alleged, is not only in his own name but even in the names of his family members including sons, daughters, daughter-in-law, friends and various companies in various districts of Jharkhand, such as Ranchi, Dhanbad and Dumka etc. and having taken cognizance of the Complaint, directed a preliminary enquiry to be conducted

Through their petition filed by advocates Pallavi Langar, Vaibhav Tomar and Kapil Sibal who argued in the Delhi High Court,the JMM founder Shibu Soren, MP has termed the allegations and complaint “mischievous, false, frivolous and motivated and a rambling yarn spun by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.”