Court rejects VB’s cancellation report, orders further probe
NO RELIEF TO CAPT AFTER CLEAN CHIT Special court says the cancellation report seems to be prepared in haste; case now to come up for hearing on Nov 6
MOHALI: A local court on Thursday rejected the cancellation report in the alleged Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) scam case, in which Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and 17 others were named as accused, and directed the Vigilance Bureau to further investi- gate the matter.
In the report, the investigative agency had given a clean chit to Amarinder, who was present in the Thursday hearing, and 17 others (of whom three have died) in the case.
In a brief hearing, Jaswinder Singh, judge, special court (vigilance) pointed out, “From the perusal of the cancellation report, it looks that it has been prepared in haste.” The case is now listed for November 6. “This cancellation report was filed about a year back when the SAD-BJP alliance was in power and not the Congress. We have nothing to do with it. Law will take its own course,” Amarinder said.
This cancellation report was filed about a year back when the SADBJP alliance was in power and not the Congress. We have nothing to do with it. Law will take its own course. CAPT AMARINDER SINGH, Punjab chief minister
MOHALI: A local court on Thursday rejected the cancellation report in the alleged Amritsar Improvement Trust (AIT) scam case, in which Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and 17 others were named as accused, and directed the Vigilance Bureau to further investigate the matter.
In the report, the investigative agency had given a clean chit to Amarinder, who was present in the Thursday hearing, and 17 others( of whom three have died) in the case.
In a brief hearing, Jaswinder Singh, judge, special court (vigilance) pointed out, “From the perusal of the cancellation report, it looks that it has been prepared in haste.”
The case is now listed for November 6.
THE ALLEGED SCAM
In February 2006, the then Congress MLA Bir Devinder Singh had raised the issue of exemption of 32 acre prime land by the Amritsar Imrpeovement Trsut to a private coloniser, Veer Developers. The issue rocked the state assembly and the then speaker Kew al Kris han had announced in the assembly to for a House committee to probe the case. But later, the order was allegedly tampered with. After SAD-BJP came to power in 2007, the matter was raised again and the House panel was formed next year and it held Amarinder, then local bodies minister Ch aud ha ry Jagj it Singh and others guilty and orderd the VB to register an FIR.
AMARINDERDEFIANT
OnThursday,speakingtomediapersons outside the court, Amarinder said, “This cancellation reportwasfiledaboutayearback when the SAD-BJP alliance was in power and not the Congress. We have nothing to do with it. Law will take its own course.”
TheVBinSeptember2008had registered a first information report (FIR) under Sections 420 (cheating), 467/468 (forgery), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy)oftheIndianPenalCode (IPC) and various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused.
The challan, filed in February 2009, found all 18 accused involved in the alleged scam that led to a loss of ₹360 crore to the state exchequer. However, the charges were never framed against the accused.
In its second round of investigation—conductedfollowingan orderofthePunjabandHaryana high court — the VB found that there was “no undue favour granted to any developer or misuseofpower”,whileseekingcancellation of the FIR against the accused.
WHATCOURTWANTS THEVBTOCLARIFY
The judge said “the report is silent about the withdrawal of the policy/notification”.
The VB had mentioned notification issued in December 17, 2004, as per which “no coloniser could have been denied the licence if the notification under Section 36 of the Punjab Improvement Trust Act was issued after the date of submission of coloniser for grant of licence to the competent authority under the provision(s) of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (PAPR) Act”.
The agency had said that before the notification of the land in question on December 5, 2003, undersection36 of Punjab Town Improvement Trust Act, Veer Colonizer had already submitted an application to the competent authority on July 1, 2003, for development of colony on the land and, therefore, the government was competent to exempt the land as per the notification.
The court has now asked the agency to put on record the relevant policy under which the land was exempted.
TAMPERING WITH PROCEEDINGS
With regards to allegations of tampering with the Vidhan S ab ha proceedings dated March 1, 2006, the cancellation report says the proceedings were sent to the then Punjab Speaker on March 1, 2006, for making necessary corrections.
The proceedings were sent to the then Speaker on March 28, and words “if the House agrees” after “a committee of the House will be formed” were added.
The court said “perusal of record shows that words “if the House agrees” were added between March 28 and April 21, 2006”.
The court said, “The present cancellation report is not based on record but is based on conjectures and surmises.”