A petition has been filed in the Bombay high court seeking that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be directed to include the name of former Maharashtra chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar as an accused in the Adarsh housing society scam, alleging quid pro quo in his capacity as the then revenue minister.
A petition has been filed in the Bombay high court seeking that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) be directed to include the name of former Maharashtra chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar as an accused in the Adarsh housing society scam, alleging quid pro quo in his capacity as the then revenue minister.
Social activist Pravin Wategaonkar has filed the criminal petition, seeking directions to the CBI to file an FIR against Patil-Nilangekar, who is also an erstwhile revenue minister, for his "acts of commission and omission in the approval of grant of land in possession of defence department to Adarsh housing society" under appropriate sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Former CM Ashok Chavan has been named as an accused in the chargesheet.
Wategaonkar mentioned the petition before a division bench of justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudessai on Monday. The HC has kept the petition for hearing on May 6.
According to the petition, Patil-Nilangekar during tenure as revenue minister, granted certain approvals to the Adarsh society illegally. In return, his son-in-law, Arun Dawle, was allotted a flat in the plush high-rise in south Mumbai, claims the petition.
Wategaonkar had initially filed an application in the HC in January 2014, seeking inclusion of Patil-Nilangekar's name as an accused in the scam. The HC asked him to approach the special CBI court, which is hearing the matter. The special court, on February 15, rejected Wategaonkar's petition, stating that it did not have the powers to direct CBI to probe any matter.
In his petition, Wategaonkar has relied on the application made by CBI before the special court while seeking custody of former MLA and Adarsh promoter Kanhaiyalal Gidwani when he was arrested.
"CBI in its remand application said Gidwani had opened an account in Kallappanna Awade Ichalkaranji Janata Sahakari Bank in Sangli under a proxy name, in which huge amounts of cash were deposited by him from time to time. Most of the sum was then transferred to the accounts of his wife, sons and daughters-in-law and also to the account of M/s Jai Maharashtra in which his sons are directors," states the petition.
It adds: "The said amounts were used for making payments towards the benami flats booked in Adarsh. Arun Dawle, son-in-law of Patil-Nilangekar, received at least Rs17.60 lakh from the Jai Maharashtra account.
Nilangekar misused his official position and showed undue favours to the society. In return, Dawle was allotted flat in the society," Wategaonkar alleged.
The petition seeks that the CBI should probe Patil-Nilangekar's role and submit a report to the HC.
The CBI had earlier refused to probe the former CM saying that, after investigating Patil- Nilangekar's role as revenue minister, it "did not find any prosecutable evidence against him to arraign him as an accused". Also, there is no material on hand to suggest that Nilangekar extended undue favours to the society and that his son-in-law was allotted flat as quid pro quo, adds the affidavit.
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