Adarsh case: Governor didn't take advice of Maharashtra cabinet in Ashok Chavan matter

Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan did not take the state Cabinet's advice while turning down CBI's request for sanction to prosecute then Chief Minister Ashok Chavan as he felt it was "highly unlikely" that it would render "unbiased aid and advice" in the matter.
In the 13-page order, now provided to former Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi under RTI Act, the governor has questioned the allegations levelled by the agency, saying it had failed to present any evidence against the Congress leader in its report.
"CBI has sought sanction to prosecute Chavan as he was the Revenue Minister and, thereafter, also the chief minister of Maharashtra during the time when it is alleged that he committed the offence," he said in the 13-page order denying the sanction to prosecute.
Chavan was part of the Council of Ministers during the period in question and had also later headed it by virtue of being the chief minister of Maharashtra.
"It seems to me to be highly unlikely that the Council of Ministers would render unbiased aid and advice in this regard as the same set of (individuals) continue at the helm of affairs today," he said.
He said that the council was not likely to offer unbiased advice either for or against Chavan for "more than obvious political, as also personal, reasons".
"(Chavan) having been the head of the Council of Ministers at one point, propriety demands that the aid and advice of the same set of ministers should not be sought," he said in the order.