Delhi Lokayukta Manmohan Sarin on Tuesday gave a reprieve to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s former Parliamentary Secretary Naseeb Singh by allowing a distant family member and relative of his to withdraw two different complaints pertaining to land acquisition and use against him.
In his order, the Lokayukta observed that Mr. Singh, who was also a member of the Delhi Development Authority, was facing inquiry in two different complaints filed by Mr. Chaudhary.
In one of the complaints, it was alleged that 107 bighas and 19 biswa of land in Ghazipur village was notified for acquisition on November 13, 1959, under Section 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act and this acquisition was challenged by the father and grandfather of Mr. Singh by filing a writ petition in High Court.
“By concealing the factum of Award No. 94/86-87 being passed on September 17, 1986, an order dated August 1, 2002 setting aside acquisition proceeding was obtained. DDA was not pleaded as a party in the petition,” the Lokayukta said.
Stating that it was also alleged that Mr. Singh carried out unauthorised construction in St. Peters Convent School, despite the sealing order passed by the Monitoring Committee of the Supreme Court, the Lokayukta said this land was the subject matter of the writ petition filed to challenge the acquisition proceeding.
Despite the order of status quo, he said the writ petitioners executed an Assignment Deed and transferred the land to East Delhi Health & Education Society of which Mr. Singh was the president.
In the case, accusation were also levelled of encroachment of DDA land in Khasra No. 386 in Village Ghazipur which was the acquired land and raising of the unauthorised construction on the same and also putting it to commercial use.
“During the inquiry,” the Lokayukta said the complainant and respondent approached the forum for “settling the dispute to maintain harmony in the family and to put an end to acrimony”. As the family elders opposed this settlement, the two filed a Settlement Deed and prayed for withdrawal of the complaints.
The Office of the Lokayukta then decided to first “satisfy itself that the settlement was not opposed to law or public policy”. Based on the appreciation of the evidence, it said various allegations were not established and therefore application for withdrawal of complaints was allowed with the rider that “the same would not be a bar to the statutory authorities in performing their statutory obligations and the said authorities may revisit the allegations, if fresh or supplementary evidence in respect of the allegations surfaces”.
The order was pronounced after the construction alleged to be raised by Mr. Singh in Khasra No. 386 in Village Ghazipur was owned up by his father who himself had demolished the construction before any action was taken by the DDA. As for the allegation of raising construction in St. Peters Convent School sealed by Monitoring Committee, the Lokayukta said it too was not established as the work of raising the wall was found to be awarded by the DDA to a contractor.
