Govt trying to scuttle probe in Adarsh case: def ministry

Alleging that the state government was trying to scuttle the probe into the Adarsh society scam, the ministry of defence (MoD) questioned the state-appointed inquiry commission’s finding that the controversial land belongs to the state government.

Alleging that the state government was trying to scuttle the probe into the Adarsh society scam, the ministry of defence (MoD) questioned the state-appointed inquiry commission’s finding that the controversial land belongs to the state government.

Major general Deepak Saxena, chief of staff for Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa areas of the Indian Army, filed an application on behalf of the MoD in the high court challenging the objection raised against the CBI probe.

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The state government and Adarsh society had filed affidavits stating that the CBI did not have jurisdiction to probe the matter as the land where the 31-storey building stands belongs to the state government.

Maintaining that the land belonged to it, the MoD alleged that it had been fraudulently transferred to the scam-hit housing society. The Central ministry also took strong exception to the commission’s finding that the land belonged to the state government.

“Title of land cannot be adjudicated by a commission of inquiry. It can be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction, a civil court. The belated attempt to scuttle the probe, almost completed by the CBI, 16 months after registration of the FIR is illegal and is with mala fide intentions,” the plea stated.

It pointed out that the governor of Maharashtra had granted consent to the CBI for investigating offences punishable under the Prevention of Corruption Act on February 22, 1989, and therefore, no separate consent for investigating Adarsh scam was required.

Meanwhile, the court on Wednesday posted a bunch of PILs filed by activists Simpreet Singh and Pravin Wategaonkar for hearing after two weeks after senior advocate Shekhar Naphade, sought time to respond to the MoD plea.