Corruption cases against Dr Vijay Singla, Amit Rattan Kotfatta caught in legal tangle
Exactly three years ago, on May 24, 2022, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s then health minister and Mansa MLA Dr Vijay Singla was arrested for allegedly demanding a commission for the tenders cleared by his department.
Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora’s arrest on corruption charges is the third case in which the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government has got its own MLAs arrested but the first two cases continue to be caught in legal tangle.
Exactly three years ago, on May 24, 2022, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s then health minister and Mansa MLA Dr Vijay Singla was arrested for allegedly demanding a commission for the tenders cleared by his department. At the time, CM Mann had come live on social media to announce Singla’s arrest and claimed that he had himself handed over the minister to the vigilance bureau. The minister’s OSD, Pardeep Kumar, was also arrested as it was alleged that Singla had asked for the bribe through him. It was alleged that Singla had sought 2% commission against the ₹58 crore tender, which came to ₹1.16 crore, but the complainant, an officer, had refused to pay.
While the vigilance bureau had filed a challan against Singla on December 12, 2022, the charges have not been framed yet. The next hearing in the case is scheduled in a Mohali court on May 25.
2 years on, trial yet to start against Kotfatta
Similarly, in the case of Bathinda rural MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta, who was arrested on February 23, 2023, in a corruption case, the trial is yet to begin even though two years have passed. The vigilance bureau had initially caught his associate, Rashim Garg, red-handed while accepting a bribe of ₹4 lakh in lieu of releasing a village development fund of ₹25 lakh. Later, the MLA was also arrested amid allegations that the money received was meant for the MLA.
Soon after his arrest, the MLA approached the Punjab and Haryana high court to challenge the grounds for booking him. HC granted a stay on the trial and on May 22, 2023, it granted him bail, considering that nothing was recovered from him.
While Kotfatta has been claiming innocence, the VB is banking on audio recordings of conversations between Kotfatta and Rashim to make a case.
The MLA had also moved HC against the alleged procedural lapse in granting sanction to prosecute him. He contended that on completion of the investigation, the vigilance bureau had put up the file before the chief minister’s office (CMO), seeking sanction for prosecution. The CMO approved the prosecution on July 25, 2023. Thereafter, the vigilance bureau again moved the CMO, pointing out that the CMO was not the competent authority to grant prosecution sanction and that in cases related to MLAs, the sanction had to come from the Vidhan Sabha speaker. “It was thus required to be presented before the CM,” the vigilance bureau had stated.
After the CM’s approval, the file was sent to the Speaker for taking appropriate decision. The office proposal was approved by the chief minister on July 28. Thereafter, the office noting dated August 2, 2023, reflects that the approval to issue sanction for prosecution of the petitioner has been ordered to be issued by the deputy secretary, parliamentary affairs department, Punjab government.
The MLA contended that the matter was never examined by the Statutory Authority at that point of time, and vide an order dated August 2, 2023, the approval for prosecution sanction was issued without application of mind to the facts of the present case.
The next date of the matter is listed for July 30.
Meanwhile, no party action was initiated against both Singla and Kotfatta.
When contacted, chief spokesperson of AAP Punjab, Neel Garg, said, the job of the government is to take action in cases of corruption, whereas it is the court which decides the case according to the set procedure of law. “There is no doubt on our intention. Why would we have our own MLAs arrested if we had not been serious on bringing them to justice?” said Garg.
On not expelling the MLAs from the party, Garg said the opposition parties Akali Dal and Congress had actually rewarded the leaders against whom there were serious allegations.
