Ramdev withdraws civil writ petition against Himachal govt

SHIMLA : With the government initiating the process to return the land at Sadhupul back to Ramdev, the yoga guru has withdrawn the petition against the government, which has been pending in the high court.

On February 17, the state capital decided to consider the application by Ramdev’s trust to review the cancellation of lease for 96 bighas of land at Sadhupul, provided the yoga guru withdraws the writ petition filed in Himachal Pradesh high court against it.

The Congress government had cancelled he lease soon after taking over reins of the state in 2012.

On Friday, the single bench of justice CB Barowalia considered the application of withdrawal filed by the petitioner. The petitioner had challenged the grounds to cancel land lease by the government.

Following the cabinet decision where the matter was discussed, the revenue department had sent a written communication to Acharya Balkrishan to ensure unconditional withdrawal of the case to enable renewal of lease.

The previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in 2010 had leased out around 20-acre (96.2 bighas) land at Kehlog village along the KandaghatChail state highway to Acharya Balkrishan, Ramdev's aide and a trustee of Patanjali Yogpeeth, Haridwar, by charging lease money of ₹17.31 lakh. In February 2013, the government cancelled the lease and took over the land.