The CBI on Tuesday has given a clean chit to Maharashtra’s Rural Development Minister Jayant Patil in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
The agency stated this in an affidavit submitted before the Bombay High Court, in reply to an application made by social activist Pravin Wategaonkar seeking a CBI investigation against Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Mr. Patil for allegedly owning ‘benami’ flats in Adarsh building in south Mumbai.
The CBI had earlier filed an affidavit giving a clean chit to Mr. Shinde, stating that it has no evidence to suggest that the minister abused his position to secure membership of the controversial society for his kin.
Mr. Wategaonkar later filed an additional affidavit to his application along with documents supporting allegations against Mr. Shinde and Mr. Patil.
“No evidence against Sushilkumar Shinde and Jayant Patil was sufficient to prove them guilty, hence they have not been arraigned as accused,” the affidavit filed by K. Babu, Additional Superintendent of Police, CBI, said.
Mr. Patil, whose nephew Aditya owns a flat in the society, was finance minister of Maharashtra from October 1999 to December 2008 when the state government had allotted land to Adarsh Society.
