In a major setback to former chief minister Ashok Chavan, the Bombay high court on Wednesday dismissed his application which could have cleared his name from the Adarsh Housing society scam.
In a major setback to former chief minister Ashok Chavan, the Bombay high court on Wednesday dismissed his application which could have cleared his name from the Adarsh Housing society scam.
As a result, prosecution will continue against Chavan, who was appointed as Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief early this week, in the Adarsh scam.
Justice ML Tahilyani dismissed Chavan's application seeking recall of the previous order which had disallowed the Central Bureau of Investigation from deleting the Congress leader's name from the Adarsh charge sheet.
Justice Tahilyani also refused to stay his order saying: "You had got enough time during the pendency of this matter. Prayer for stay rejected."
Chavan had challenged the November 2014 order on the grounds that there were certain observations that had not been argued, and as a result, he did not get an opportunity to address them.
The probe agency first approached the special CBI court with a request to drop Chavan's name as an accused, saying that the governor had refused to grant sanction to prosecute the former CM. When the special court rejected the plea, it moved the HC.
Dismissing CBI's application, Justice Tahilyani had in November 2014 observed that while the governor had not given sanction to prosecute Chavan under the Indian Penal Code, the Congressman could still be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Allegations against Chavan are two-fold. One is that Chavan, as state's revenue minister, had suggested induction of civilian members in Adarsh society to ensure a flat for his sister-in-law Seema Sharma. Second, as state's CM, he gave concessions to Adarsh, to get two flats – one for his mother-in-law and the other for his father-in-law's brother.
The accusations mentioned in the charge sheet not only allege conspiracy, but also individual acts committed by Chavan as revenue minister and thereafter as CM. "Therefore, the charges leveled against respondent no.2 (Chavan) for the alleged individual acts cannot go away only because the governor has refused to grant sanction for prosecuting him for conspiracy and cheating," observed the court.
Justice Tahilyani further stated that it can be clearly seen from the material placed by the CBI that Chavan was holding public office and had obtained pecuniary advantages for his relatives.
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