The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has begun collect documents to inquire into the Khasgi Trust case.
The members of the trust have been arguing in their defence that the state government permitted them to sell the properties in 1969.
The high court has, however, rejected their argument. It said properties could not be disposed of on the basis of a DO written by the then chief secretary.
According to reports, on June 13, 1969, the chief secretary of the then government led by Shyama Charan Shukla, MP Shrivastava, had written a letter to the trust to transfer the properties.
The then chief minister and the then law minister gave their consent to write that letter.
There may be a problem for the EOW to inquire into the matter, since both Shukla and Shrivastava passed away.
There may be a big revelation if it comes to light who mounted pressure on the then Congress government to permit the sale of Khasgi Trust properties.
Former chief secretary MP Shrivastava was the commissioner of Indore. The probe may expose new aspects in the case.
HC feels if the trust had the shortage of money, its members should have sought financial aid from the MP government.
They could have appealed to the court, too, but selling properties was illegal, the court feels.
Permission to sell the properties should have been issued in the name of the Governor, the court says.
The court’s strict order indicates that during EOW inquiry, cases will be lodged against those trustees who have put their signature on the documents for selling the properties.
The publishers permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)