The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday set aside criminal charges against Associated Journals Limited (AJL) and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in a case related to alleged irregularities in re-allotment of an institutional plot to the company in Panchkula.
The judgment comes as a major relief to the AJL – which is owned by a company of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, and Hooda, who is the incumbent Leader of Opposition in Haryana.Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya said that Hooda's 2005 decision to re-allot the plot, which had originally been given to AJL in 1982 for establishment of the office of National Herald and publication of a Hindi newspaper, was unanimously ratified by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) ex-post facto in 2006.
It added that no court has declared the decision illegal till date."The allotment is valid as on date, it has also not been cancelled, nor declared illegal or arbitrary. Instead, the AJL after payment of re-allotment price as well as the extension fee has raised construction, and has been given occupation certificate by the Authority on 14.08.2014. No grievance has been raised regarding any loss to the Authority; nor has the AJL or any other accused been called upon to make good any perceived harm. Even the Government auditors have dropped their objection regarding financial loss to the Authority on account of this re-allotment," the Court said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had earlier filed a chargesheet under Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act against the AJL, Hooda - who was the Chairman of HUDA, and Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Moti Lal Vora, who has since passed away. Subsequently, the trial court framed charges against AJL and Hooda in 2021.
The case was initially registered in 2016 by the Haryana Vigilance Bureau. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government later transferred the probe to CBI. It was alleged that the plot was re-allotted to AJL at 1982 rates despite the cancellation of the original allotment.However, the High Court opined that the material brought on record by CBI does not even prima facie disclose the existence of essential ingredients of the alleged offences against them.
"Continuation of prosecution will be an abuse of the process of Court. Consequently, both the petitions are allowed. The impugned orders, dated 16.04.2021, framing charges against the petitioners as well as dismissing the discharge application, are hereby set aside along with all subsequent proceedings arising therefrom, and the petitioners stand discharged," the Court ordered.
This is absolutely illegal, and far from any procedure known to law.The Court said Hooda’s decision had not been questioned by anyone, including the State government and HUDA. Even the FIR was registered on the basis of a source, it added.
“Ignoring these vital facts of the matter, the CBI has taken upon itself to term the re-allotment illegal being violative of the 1977 Act which would, in its view, attract criminal liability under the provisions of the IPC and the PC Act invoked against the petitioners. It is unfathomable as to how the investigating agency can consider the re-allotment of plot unlawful on its own, and proceed to register a criminal case on the basis. This is absolutely illegal, and far from any procedure known to law,” the Bench said.
The Court further said that there was no material to establish any agreement between the accused to intentionally cheat HUDA by re-allotting the plot in question.
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