Former union petroleum minister Satish Sharma is in the thick of a legal battle over the Centre's refusal to prosecute him in the petrol pumps allotment scam
NEW DELHI: Former union petroleum minister Satish Sharma, considered to be close to the Gandhi family, is in the thick of a legal battle over the Centre's refusal to prosecute him in the petrol pumps allotment scam case.
The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Centre, CBI and Sharma on a petition by the NGO Common Cause, challenging the refusal to grant sanction to prosecute Congress MP Sharma in the 1995 scam.
A Bench headed by Justice Y K Sabharwal asked the respondents to file their replies to the petitioner's averments that following the Centre's refusal to grant sanction to prosecute Sharma. The CBI had moved a closure report before a Delhi Special Judge.
The CBI had told the judge concerned that the Union Home Ministry had said that the "matter was considered from all aspects in consultation with the Ministry of Law and Justice and then it was decided not to accord sanction for his prosecution".
The judge asked the CBI to get the Supreme Court's sanction to close the cases as the FIR was registered on its specific directions.
On a petition by the Common Cause, the apex court ordered CBI to investigate the scam and later asked it to file FIRs against Sharma. Common Cause headed by the late H D Shourie had said that that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry officials showed favour to different allottees in granting petrol pump and gas agencies by abusing their official position as public servants.
The court had also cancelled the allotments of petrol pumps by Sharma. It had also imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh on Sharma for the arbitrary allotments, but had later waived it.
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