Mumbai: The special court in Mumbai had rejected the plea of CBI to drop the name of former CM of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan who had been enlisted in the accused of Adarsh Housing Society scam case.
Judge SG Dighe said, “The CBI’s plea stands rejected.”
Governor K Sankaranarayanan had rejected CBI’s plea for sanction to prosecute Chavan, he could be tried under the Prevention of Corruption act as he has been accused of criminal misconduct. A detailed order is expected later in the day.
The court had directed the agency to get sanction for the prosecution of Chavan which was denied by Governor K Sankaranarayanan, apparently leaving CBI with little choice but to close the case against him.
Special Public Prosecutor Bharat Badami said in the course of arguments that the CBI would be “very happy” to prosecute the former Chief Minister but “our hands are tied”. He said there was no provision under the law to appeal against the Governor’s denial of sanction but the agency can request him for a review of his decision if it has additional evidence against Chavan which was not the case.
The report of judicial panel had said, “There was certainly a nexus between the acts of Chavan and benefits derived by his close relatives. The membership process clearly indicates that grant of requisite permission by Chavan was by way of quid pro quo.”
Notify that Chavan had to step down as chief minister after the scam surfaced, had challenged his inclusion in the charge sheet on the ground that no sanction for prosecution had been obtained from the Governor. The CBI had maintained that since he was a former Chief Minister at the time of being charge-sheeted, gubernatorial approval was not required.
Bureau Report
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