Dhingra panel’s report not to be made public till March 16
CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court on Wednesday adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, challenging the constitution of the Dhingra panel by the Haryana government to probe allegations that laws were flouted in granting land licences in Gurgaon during the previous Congress government’s tenure.
The matter was taken up by the division bench of justices AK Mittal and Ramendra Jain, which posted the matter for further hearing on March 16, granting interim protection to the petitioner, as Haryana told the court it would not make the report public till the next date of hearing.
During the resumed hearing on Wednesday, Hooda’s counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, reiterated that the decision to order a commission of inquiry (COI) probe was that of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar and not of the state cabinet. “He (chief minister) had an opportunity to reveal what material was before him. He did not do that in this affidavit (filed in court)… an individual decision of a CM can't be a decision of the cabinet,” Sibal said, adding that it was in violation of rules for instituting a COI probe.
Sibal also said that the COI probe is ordered to uphold the majesty of law and not for “political vendetta", but the probe ordered by state government appears to be a “fishing and roving enquiry”. “If licence has been wrongly granted, you cancel that license. But it is not a matter of public importance. It might be a matter of political importance,” he added.
Appearing for the state government, advocate general BR Mahajan clarified that the reply filed to the petition was not a complete one. “We have filed the reply to deny allegations of political vendetta and mala fide intention... Other aspects (material on record to order probe) are not covered,” said Mahajan, further stating that it might choose to rebut the allegations if a formal notice is issued by the court to the state.
Hooda had alleged that the government action of ordering probe was “mala fide” and was a result of political “vendetta”, and the present chief minister and his cabinet colleagues were indulging in “witch hunting”.
On the last date of hearing, the HC had ordered that the time period to which matter remained in court be excluded from the six months’ stipulated time within which the report is to be submitted. SN Dhingra panel had submitted its report on August 31, 2016, and the six month period expires on February 28. It was set up by Haryana in 2015 to probe the allegations that laws were flouted in granting land licences to some companies, including one owned by Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.