HC orders the CBI court to postpone the land case in Manesar until February 24.
Key sentence:
- Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan of the High Court released a notice of the CBI request, following a petition by former Haryana IAS officer Sudeep Singh Dhillon.
- The land was acquired in the Industrial Model Township (IMT) at Manesar by the Haryana State Industrial.
Punjab and Haryana High Court, ordered the Special CBI Judge, Panchkula, to postpone trial proceedings after February 24 in the Manesar Land case.
The high court issued a notice of motion to the CBI:
Justice Arvind Singh Sangwan of the High Court released a notice of the CBI request, following a petition by former Haryana IAS officer Sudeep Singh Dhillon. “On February 24, chart again. Meanwhile, the trial court is directed to postpone the case beyond the date set by this court,” the high judicial order of January 15 says.
The town and country planning had no direct role to play:
Dhillon, a former director of the Department of City as well as Country Planning, argued even before High Court that perhaps the acquisition proceedings were undertaken by the Department of Industries and, thus, there was no direct position for city and country planning to play either in the acquisition or in the decision-making system to drop the acquisition proceedings.
Dhillon’s lawyer argued that while investigating the punishment for prosecution sought by the CBI, the chief secretary’s office had exonerated him in a file note of January 19, 2018, claiming his role in the acquisition or dropping of land acquisition proceedings in the Manesar case was not proven.
This is also supported by the city and country planning and industry departments’ statements, said the petitioner, citing the government notice.
600 ACRES FROM ACQUISITION, HOODA GOVT Dumped
In 2007, on the instructions of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the then Congress government removed about 600 acres from the acquisition phase in Manesar.
The land was to have been acquired in the Industrial Model Township (IMT) at Manesar by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to establish residential and recreational utilities.
In 2015, on a recommendation from the BJP government in Haryana, the CBI filed a case toward unidentified persons under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
In the trial court, the investigative agency filed a charge sheet charging Hooda including three former IAS officers, ML Tayal, Chhatar Singh, and SS Dhillon, to drop procurement proceedings to assist real estate builders. Builders have been named as defendants as well.
In 2018, Hooda’s decision to abandon land acquisition proceedings was set aside by the Supreme Court, and the CBI was directed to unravel the role of intermediaries in the matter.
