The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday quashed the charge sheet and FIR lodged by the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau against BJP Lok Sabha MP and BCCI president Anurag Thakur. After coming to power, the incumbent Congress government had registered a case against Mr. Thakur and other Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) office-bearers for allegedly encroaching on government land to construct the Dharamshala International Cricket Stadium. The case was registered against Mr. Thakur under Sections 447, 441 and 120B of the IPC, under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Mr. Thakur and Mr. Vishal Marwah, HPCA president and general secretary, had approached the court for the quashing of the FIR and termed it a case of political vendetta unleashed by Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his government. The State’s Vigilance Department had blamed the HPCA for encroaching upon land belonging to the Education Department and for raising a boundary wall for the stadium. But the court found the HPCA in possession of land that was significantly less in area than what was leased by the State earlier.
The court pulled up the government officials for giving vague and sketchy replies in the petition.
“The State should have filed a comprehensive reply traversing all the grounds mentioned in the petition,” the Court observed. “The reply has been filed by a responsible officer but the same is not in conformity with the Code of Civil Procedure.” The High Court also cancelled the summons issued by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court, and any other petition if filed anywhere related to this matter.
HPCA’s official spokesperson Sanjay Sharma has welcomed the High Court’s decision and called it a victory for truth. He said the cases were politically motivated and filed by people who could not digest the success of HPCA and its leaders.
