NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on the appeal moved by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Shibu Soren to quash the proceedings initiated by Lokpal against him, in connection with a disproportionate assets case.Soren was moving the appeal on Monday following last month’s dismissal of his plea challenging the proceedings pending before Lokpal and its earlier orders which were initiated on the basis of a complaint by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.On Tuesday, the division bench of Justice Rekha Palli and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar reserved the order on his appeal, saying that the order will either be uploaded by Tuesday or by Wednesday.”We will try and give you the order by today only, otherwise, by tomorrow. If it’s not uploaded by today evening, tomorrow positively, you’ll get it. We will not delay it more than tomorrow… We want to think over it,” the bench remarked orally.The bench said prima facie it is not agreeing with the submissions of Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Soren.”We are only at the point where, whether it is the stage or not,” the bench remarked.On January 22, Justice Prasad termed Soren’s petition at this stage as “premature”, saying that the court does not want to enter into this realm at this juncture and it is for the Lokpal to take a decision as to whether there is sufficient material to proceed further for investigation or not in order to subserve the purpose for which the Act has been brought out.”..Writ Courts cannot substitute themselves as an authority which has been vested with a duty under the Statute to consider as to whether there is material in it or not for ordering investigation. The writ petition, therefore, is premature in nature,” the order read.
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