The Bombay High Court today issued notices to the Maharashtra Government and the CBI on a petition filed by former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan seeking to quash the cheating and corruption case registered against him in connection with the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
A division bench of Justices P V Hardas and A R Joshi has directed the Government and the CBI to file their affidavits by April 1.
Mr. Chavan, in his petition filed late last year, had sought quashing of the FIR registered by the CBI in the Adarsh scam stating that it did not have jurisdiction to probe the matter as neither the State Government nor the High Court had given their consent to the agency to conduct investigation.
The former Chief Minister claimed that he was wrongly named in the FIR and that there was a political conspiracy to keep him out of public affairs.
Mr. Chavan and 12 others have been charge-sheeted by the CBI in the Adarsh scam with the Congress leader being accused of granting some approvals to the upscale Housing society in South Mumbai as a quid pro quo for allotment of three flats to his kin.
Mr. Chavan’s mother-in-law Bhagvati Sharma, sister-in-law Seema Sharma and father-in-law’s brother Madanlal Sharma have flats in the society.
According to the CBI, Mr. Chavan misused his official position twice, first as Revenue Minister and then as Chief Minister, to show undue favour to the society.
All the accused have been charged with criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct under sections 120(B) and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and section 13(1) (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI has examined 150 witnesses and attached 161 documents from various departments as evidence.
