New Delhi: The Lokpal, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice A.M. Khanwilkar, has dismissed a disproportionate assets complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Nishikant Dubey and his family, while at once allowing him to take action against the complainant.

The disproportionate assets complaint had been filed by activist Amitabh Thakur, who studied the Godda MP Dubey’s election affidavits from 2009 to 2024 to allege unexplained increases in his spouse’s assets. PTI reported that Thakur had in his complaint claimed that while the movable and immovable properties of Dubey have remained more or less constant during the given period, "that of his wife Mrs Anamika Gautam have increased by leaps and bounds".

Khanwilkar held that the allegations were frivolous, vexatious, and devoid of merit, claiming according to news reports on the order, that the complaint targeted Dubey’s wife rather than the MP himself, who alone falls under the Lokpal’s jurisdiction.

The former judge claimed Thakur had acted with apparent personal or political animus, and violated confidentiality norms by publicising the complaint on social media.

The Lokpal mentioned several disapprovals of Thakur’s conduct in the 134-page order.

"We leave it to the wisdom of RPS to proceed against the complainant on that account, including on the matter in issue in the show cause notice regarding making the contents of the complaint public to the prejudice of the RPS and affecting the integrity of the processes pending the complaint, by way of appropriate action, if so advised. We say no more," the order said, according to PTI.

"The Honorable Lokpal has ordered that, on the basis of these false allegations, to tarnish the honour of my family, I should file a case of harassment against these people in the judiciary or the Lok Sabha. Satyameva Jayate," ANI quoted Dubey as having said.

This is not the first time Justice Khanwilkar has ordered retributive action to be taken against a petitioner whom he has rejected in court.

Justice Khanwilkar was part of the bench that in 2022 dismissed Zakia Jafri's plea challenging the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) clean chit to 64 people, including Narendra Modi, in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. On the basis of the Supreme Court's verdict, the Gujarat Police had on the following day, arrested activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officer R. B. Sreekumar on charges of fabricating evidence linked to the riots.

"By arresting and detaining Teesta and constituting an SIT apparently to investigate a conspiracy to malign the state of Gujarat and some other issues, I wonder who is keeping the pot boiling," former Supreme Court judge, Justice Madan Lokur had written on the controversial order.

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