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Industrial land for real estate: Punjab’s response sought on plea of former minister
The high court bench of justice Raj Mohan Singh, while posting the matter for further hearing on May 3, also asked Punjab why the proceedings initiated should not be stayed
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Thursday sought response from the Punjab government on a plea from former industries minister Sunder Sham Arora in the case of an alleged illegal transfer of an industrial plot to a real estate company for setting up a township in Mohali’s Phase 9, Industrial Area.
The HC bench of justice Raj Mohan Singh, while posting the matter for further hearing on May 3, also asked why the proceedings initiated should not be stayed.
The court acted on the plea from Arora, who has sought quashing of the FIR registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau on January 5.
Besides Arora, an IAS officer and 10 other officials are named as accused in the case, on allegations of “wrong bifurcation” of a 25-acre plot in Phase 9 to allegedly benefit a realty firm “Gulmohar Township Private Limited”, causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.
In the plea, the former minister has argued that he was a victim of “political vendetta” through which multiple cases had been registered one after the other, so as to ensure that “he be kept behind bars”.
During the hearing on Thursday, his counsel, Preetinder Singh Ahluwalia, argued that it was inconceivable as to how criminal liability was fastened upon the petitioner solely on the premise of a letter written by him, wherein, he had sought details about the number of plots that are pending for bifurcation and change of name.
The 2021 letter, referred to by the vigilance for fixing liability, did not even make any mention to the industrial plot in question or any other particular project, Ahluwalia told court.
He also pointed out that the former minister had not signed any document pertaining to the process of bifurcation of plots, whose decision was taken by the PSIEC, it was informed.
Besides this, Ahluwalia also submitted that no prior approval was taken by the investigating agency before the inquiry or the registration of FIR against the former minister or other co-accused, which was mandatory.
