The former Maharashtra Chief Minister and co-accused in the Adarsh housing society scandal, Ashok Chavan, on Monday approached the Bombay High Court, seeking quashing of the Adarsh case on the grounds that the Central Bureau of Investigation did not have jurisdiction to investigate the case.
He filed the petition under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and stated that he had been wrongly named in the case.
The CBI has chargesheeted Mr. Chavan and 12 others in the case. He has been accused of misusing his position, first as Revenue Minister, and as Chief Minister, for granting favours to the society in return for flats for three relatives.
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The agency accused him of proposing inclusion of civilian members in the society, which till then was meant for Defence personnel.
The petition stated: “The allegation that the applicant [Mr. Chavan] had asked for civilians to be included in Adarsh society has been made with an ulterior motive. The society had decided to induct civilians as members in 1999.”
The government earlier argued before the Bombay High Court that neither the State government nor the Bombay High Court had approached the agency to investigate the case, and thus it did not have any jurisdiction to conduct the investigation.
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Toeing that line of argument, Mr. Chavan on Monday stated that the agency had transgressed into the State government’s jurisdiction.
The charge sheet detailed Mr. Chavan’s role in proposing civilian membership in the society, and later suggesting the names of his mother-in-law, sister-in-law and father-in-law’s brother for grant of membership.