In a bid to dig up ghosts of the 2012 Adarsh scam, the state cabinet had recommended to governor C.
In a bid to dig up ghosts of the 2012 Adarsh scam, the state cabinet had recommended to governor C. Vidyasagar Rao to allow the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to prosecute accused Congress Lok Sabha MP and former chief minister, Ashok Chavan.
Meanwhile, a highly-placed source from the Law and Judiciary department revealed that owing to technical loopholes, the Governor had to seek the opinion of Advocate General of the state.
A senior cabinet minister on condition of anonymity said that CBI had approached the Governor and asked his permission to prosecute Mr Chavan in the Adarsh scam. Following this, the Governor wrote to the state seeking the opinion of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his council of ministers. More than a week ago, the state cabinet unanimously approved allowing CBI to prosecute Mr Chavan, the senior cabinet minister said.
After getting the council of ministers’ opinion, the Governor on Wednesday called Advocate General of the state, Shrihari Aney. A source revealed that in a one-on-one meeting between the Governor and Advocate Aney, the issue of allowing CBI to prosecute Mr Chavan in the Adarsh case was discussed.
“There are some technical issues in Mr Chavan’s case and that is why the Governor would have probably called Mr Aney to seek his opinion,” said an official from the Law and Judiciary department. The official said he too is unable to explain the limitations in prosecuting Mr Chavan in the case. Neither Mr Aney nor officials from Raj Bhavan were ready to speak on the issue. Earlier in 2013, Governor K. Sankaranarayanan had denied permission to the CBI to prosecute Mr Chavan.
Reacting to the development, Mr Chavan termed the government’s recommendation as an example of vendetta politics by using CBI to prosecute him. He said that in 2013 too, similar permission was sought from the Governor to prosecute him however the then Governor Sankaranarayanan sought legal opinion from top experts and the permission was denied. Mr Chavan added that after change of government at the Centre and in the state, the new government had put pressure on CBI. Mr Chavan termed the whole incident as shocking, surprising and illegal.
In 2012, Mr Chavan was forced to step down as Chief Minister after his name figured in the Adarsh scam. Adarsh Housing Society is a posh 31-storey building in Colaba constructed for the welfare of war widows and defence ministry personnel. In January 2011, the state government had set up a two-member judicial commission headed by Justice J.A. Patil. The report had highlighted 25 illegal allotments which included 22 purchases made by proxy.
