Petition challenging constitution of Dhingra panel withdrawn

CHANDIGARH: A petition challenging constitution of the SN Dhingra Commission by the Haryana government to look into the murky land deals in some Gurgaon sectors was withdrawn on the first day of hearing by the petitioner.

The petition filed as public interest litigation (PIL), by one Ravinder Kumar, came up for hearing before the division bench of justice SS Saron and justice Hari Pal Verma. As it transpired that state government had recently appointed a Lokayukta and petitioner had made a complaint to Lokayukta office against the constitution of panel, the high court dismissed the petition “as withdrawn” with liberty to the petitioner to approach the state Lokayokta with his demand of setting aside the commission.

The panel was constituted in May 2015 by the state government to probe dubious issuance of licences to developers in about a dozen Gurgaon sectors.

The petitioner had argued that the government move was “illegal and politically motivated”. It was argued that the council of ministers had not granted the prior approval for constitution of panel.

The direction was sought from the court in the petition to set aside notification on the panel and all the consequential proceedings. Initially, the one-man commission of inquiry (COI) was appointed to probe the grant of commercial licence to Sky Light Hospitality -- the company owned by Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi -- in Sector 83. However, the government extended the term of the CoI by six months from December 8, 2015 to June 7, 2016 as the probe was extended from one sector to a dozen at the behest of justice Dhingra. The panel is yet to submit its report.