Grant of licence to developers: Haryana govt submits Dhingra panel report in SC
The Haryana government on Monday submitted in the Supreme Court an inquiry report by the Justice S N Dhingra Commission, which had probed alleged irregularities in granting of licences to developers in four villages of Gurgaon by the previous Congress government. The incumbent BJP dispensation submitted the report pursuant to an order passed on April 12 by a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit, which has been adjudicating a batch of appeals relating to acquisition of land and its allocation to various private parties for residential and commercial establishments.
The report, which was submitted to the state government by former High Court Judge Justice S N Dhingra in August last year but is still to be made public, has reportedly also examined charges of irregularities against Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, whose company was at the centre of a probe. It has been alleged that Vadra made monetary gains from his company Skylight Hospitality’s deal with real estate major DLF after the then government of Bhupinder Singh Hooda granted a change of land use (CLU) certificate to plots owned by the company in Shikohpur village of Gurgaon.
Last week, the bench was informed by senior lawyer C A Sundaram, who was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the court, that a report of a commission of inquiry was submitted to the Haryana government but this report has not been published on account of a statement made by the state government in some proceedings pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
At this, the court decided to summon the Dhingra panel report to take note of it before passing the final order in the matter. “Let a copy of the report and the statement be filed before this court in a sealed cover within a period of one week as it is stated that the said report will have bearing on present proceedings,” it directed.
The bench had then given four months to CBI to complete its probe in connection with alleged illegalities in granting licences for commercial and residential establishments in the four villages. On March 21, the bench passed an interim order of status quo.
Hooda, who led the government in the state for 10 years, was also minister for town and country planning. He had said: “It is all politically motivated, a witch hunt. I have not read the report yet, so I can’t comment further.” The Congress had also attacked Dhingra and the BJP, saying Vadra was being singled out as part of a “vendetta”.
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