AMN / BOMBAY
The Bombay High Court today set aside the sanction granted to the CBI by Maharashtra Governor to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh housing society scam. The court said, the CBI had claimed to be in possession of fresh evidence against the senior Congress leader at the time of seeking the sanction but it failed to present any fresh evidence.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by Chavan, challenging the sanction granted by the Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao in February 2016 to prosecute him under various sections of the IPC related to criminal conspiracy and cheating, besides provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Chavan, currently the president of the Maharashtra unit of the Congress, had served as the Chief Minister between December 2008 and November 2010 before he was asked to step down on charges of corruption in the Adarsh scam.
The CBI has accused Chavan of approving additional floor space index (FSI) for the Adarsh society in posh south Mumbai, and accepting two flats for his relatives in return when he was the Chief Minister. He is also accused of illegally approving, as revenue minister, allotment of 40 per cent of flats to civilians even though the society was originally meant for defence personnel.
