The state government on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that the Anti-Corruption Bureau will not register an FIR against former chief executive officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and former Mumbai suburban collector, Vishwas Patil, till the next date of hearing after the court verbally requested for the same. On July 27, a special court had directed the ACB to register an FIR against Patil, his wife, Chandrasena, and developers Ramji Harakhchand Shah and Rasesh Babubhai Kanakia. The orders were passed on a complaint alleging that Patil and others conspired to hand over a large government area as free sale plot to developers for a luxury project.
The HC has now kept the next date for hearing on August 9, with the government seeking time to take instructions. Patil had filed a petition challenging the order of the special judge under the Prevention of Corruption Act before the high court. On Thursday, appearing for Patil, senior counsel Amit Desai argued that under the law, prior sanction requires to be taken before a court can order investigation against a person who is or was a public servant. He added that Patil was discharging his ministerial functions as a collector in 2009. “He executed the lease deed,” said Desai, to which the court said that he should have said no. “He (Patil) was duty bound to execute the decision of the government. He was then the collector,” added Desai.
