The CBI on Wednesday filed a plea before a sessions court here seeking to drop the name of the former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan, from its charge sheet in the Adarsh case. This comes a month after Governor K. Sankaranarayanan turned down the agency’s request to prosecute Mr. Chavan on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating.
The CBI told the court that since the Governor holds a constitutional position, the agency could not appeal against his decision. The court is expected to give its view on January 18, next date of hearing. Mr Chavan was not available for comment.
“The Governor had refused to grant permission to prosecute Mr. Chavan on the basis of evidence put before him. The matter was reviewed by the CBI and its legal team, which said no appeal against the Governor was possible unless fresh evidence was presented,” a CBI spokesperson told The Hindu .
When the Governor rejected prosecution of Mr. Chavan on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating, the CBI considered proceeding against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. However, the case would have to be backed by charges of criminal conspiracy. “The case under the Prevention of Corruption Act is unsustainable. Therefore we moved an application in the court asking for Mr. Chavan’s name to be dropped,” the CBI spokesperson added.
Mr. Chavan resigned as Chief Minister in 2010 in the wake of revelations that three of his relatives owned flats in the building. The CBI filed a charge sheet which named him and 12 others in 2012.
