Allahabad high court dismisses PIL against ex-UP CM Mayawati

In a major relief for former UP chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday dismissed petitions against her in the Taj Corridor case. The court also dismissed the petitions against her cabinet colleague Naseemuddin Siddiqui.

Passing the order, the bench comprising justices Imtiyaz Murtaza and Ashwani Kumar Singh said all petitions were devoid of merit and were accordingly being dismissed. BSP leader and Mayawati's counsel Satish Chandra Mishra termed the petitions filed in the case as "politically motivated" and pursued with "malafide intention".

"There are no offences against Mayawati in the Taj Corridor case," he told reporters here after the court delivered a 74-page verdict. The bench had on September 12 reserved its judgement on the PILs seeking direction for initiation of proceedings of criminal case against Mayawati and Siddiqui.

The special CBI court had in June 2007 dropped proceedings against Mayawati and Siddiqui for lack of prosecution sanction, which was not granted by the then Governor. After this, three PILs were filed in 2009 challenging the decision of the CBI court. Later three more PILs were filed in this connection.