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The Delhi High Court will on Monday pronounce order on a petition by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren challenging the proceedings initiated against him by the Lokpal on the basis of a complaint by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleging corruption.
The verdict will be pronounced by a single-judge bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad.
In the complaint made in August 2020, BJP leader Dubey claimed that "Shibu Soren and his family members acquired huge wealth and properties by misusing the public exchequer and have been grossly indulged in corruption".
On September 12, 2022, the high court had stayed the Lokpal proceedings while opining that the matter required consideration.
Assailing the complaint as well as the Lokpal proceedings, Soren has argued before the high court that the case against him was "purely malafide" and "politically motivated".
He argued that the complaint could not have been entertained by the ombudsman as the allegations pertained to a period that was seven years before the date of the complaint and therefore could not be looked into.
In response, the Lokpal said the proceedings were being conducted as per the law and the complaint was still "open to adjudication" as "no final view has been formed" and it "cannot comment on the merit of the complaint at this stage".
It further said that the Lokpal was established to look into the allegations of corruption against public functionaries following India's commitment to the policy of "zero corruption" and a "complaint need not be rejected at the threshold".
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