Adarsh trial against Ashok Chavan stayed

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday asked the CBI to inform a special court not to proceed against Congress MP and former chief minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh Housing Society scam case till the high court hears his plea against the Maharashtra governor’s February 2016 sanction to prosecute him.

Justice R.V. More was hearing Mr Chavan’s plea challenging Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao’s decision to allow the CBI to prosecute him in the case. In February last year, Mr Rao had allowed the CBI to prosecute Mr Chavan for offences under IPC sections 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) and various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.   

Mr Chavan contention was that the earlier Governor, Mr Shankar-narayanan had refused the CBI sanction so what were the change in circumstances that led the new governor to grant permission to prosecute.  His petition called the governor’s order ‘arbitrary, illegal and unjust’, passed without ‘proper application of mind’, and with ‘malafide intentions’. His counsel Amit Desai informed the court that the special CBI court would go ahead with the proceedings on June 21.  

The court then asked the CBI counsel Hiten Venegaonkar to inform the special court not to go ahead with proceedings till they hear the plea.

Mr Chavan had allowed 40% of flats in Adarsh reserved for Kargil war widows and ex-servicemen, to civilians.