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Notices issued over land allocation

Special Correspondent

Petition to facilitate registration of FIR, initiate enquiry

JAIPUR: Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday issued notices to the State of Rajasthan and the Union of India on the allocation of public land at a concessional rate in the State capital to the Deendayal Upadhyaya Trust of which Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje is the chairperson.

The Single Bench of Justice Mr. Ashok Parihar issued notices to the State and the Centre through the Chief Secretary and the Superintendent of Police, CBI, Jaipur respectively in response to a writ petition filed by Poonam Chand Bhandari. The petition, filed on Monday through Mr.Bhandari's lawyer Nazir Naqvi, requested the court for facilitating registration of an FIR in the land deal, an enquiry, and submission of the report to State Governor.

Mr.Bhandari, who had petitioned to Governor Pratibha Patil on November 8 in this regard, had then sought her sanction to prosecute Chief Minister and other members of the Cabinet in connection with the allocation of 6434.75 sq metres of land in the Residency area of the capital.

The Trust was reportedly given land at the rate of 5 per cent of the market value in July 2005 by the Jaipur Development Authority even before its formal registration. A Cabinet Sub Committee headed by Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria gave final clearance to the land allocation in February 2006. Senior advocate S.R. Bajwa, who appeared on behalf of the petitioner, said the police were "hamstrung" to act on the issue as the Chief Minister of the State herself was involved. "The police will not do anything. We want consent to prosecute the Chief Minister," he pleaded.

Despite an order from the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate a fortnight back to the authorities of the Gandhi Nagar police station here to register an FIR, no case was still registered, he noted.

Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee vice president Raghu Sharma, who disclosed before journalists here the contents of the bank account of the Trust with the PNB, Raja Park branch, today sought action from the Income Tax Department on the Trust's funds. "The donors must have been motivated by the possible benefits they could expect in future from the party in power."

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