E-Paper
Double land compensation: HC judge recuses from PIL
Punjab sports minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and his family members allegedly pocketed compensation twice for a piece of land acquired by the government
A Punjab and Haryana high court judge on Wednesday recused himself from hearing public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into double compensation a Punjab cabinet minister and his family got for the acquisition of land in Ferozepur.
The plea filed by three residents of Rupnagar, including lawyer Dinesh Chadha, levels allegations of “illegal and fraudulent acts” by Punjab sports minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and his family members in connivance with the officials for getting double compensation.
It further alleges that due to the influence of the minister, the Congress government is diluting the whole matter by giving it a civil tone in order to shield corrupt elements who have “abused” power.
The plea was taken up by the bench of chief justices RS Jha and Arun Palli but the latter recused from hearing it while fixing the next date of hearing for July 23.
The case involved a matter of grave public concern whereby a present cabinet minister in Punjab government managed and manipulated the government machinery in taking compensation again and again for the same land. It was done in the garb of dual acquisition proceedings by concealing the fact of earlier acquisition proceedings,” the PIL alleges.
The land at Mohanki Attar village had been acquired for the Ferozepur-Fazilka-Guru Har Sahai road. The family received ₹1.8 crore compensation in 2014 for the land after re-acquisition in 2012, which, as per record, had also been acquired in 1962 for ₹7,384. The land comprised 55 kanal and 6 marla belonging to Sodhi and 38 kanal of his nephew Jasdeep Sodhi.
The plea alleges that the entire fraud has been unearthed as per the state government’s own high power committee report but the government officials are sitting as “puppets and helpless creatures in the hand of mighty and powerful, least they themselves will be facing the wrath in case they dare to take any criminal action against the minister concerned and his family members”, hence a CBI probe is warranted.
