HC to hear PIL against Robert Vadra land deals

New Delhi : Delhi High Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a PIL against Robert Vadra, for minting money in the alleged land deals in Haryana and Rajastnan.

Advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, who has filed the criminal writ petition for directions to the CBI for a probe, appeared himself before the court to draw its attention to the alleged land deals of Vadra in various states using political influence, asserting that it involves rampant corruption by the Congress governments.

A division bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Pradeep Nandrajog posted the matter for April 30. The petition alleges corruption in the licences granted to several real estate developers in Haryana and how Vadra secured such licences and then transferred them to DLF and the kind of financial deals between him and DLF that smack of corrupting the government.

The case comes on the heels of his wife Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, for the first time, responded to allegations against him, dubbing the charges against him as politically motivated and decrying the Opposition for dragging his name in the election campaign.

“Issuing of colony licences by the DTCP (department of town and country planning) in Haryana in the name of an individual who is not owner of any land is not only illegal but also clear case of corruption within the provision of PC (Prevention of Corruption) Act 1988. To support or give undue favour is a corruption in what has been hatched in the Haryana colony licence deal for Robert Vadra and others”, the petition said.

Advocate Sharma has alleged in the PIL that several licences were issued to developers and builders for turning 21,366 acres of agricultural land into colonies without complying with the statutory rules. The decision caused “serious financial loss of Rs 3.9 lakh crore to the exchequer.

The petition has sought quashing of the June 3, 2013 letter by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Shashi Kant Sharma allegedly rolling back the audit and inquiry into the grant of licence to Vadra”s Skylight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd that was ordered by his predecessor Vinod Rai. It also sought a probe into the land deals entered into by Skylight Hospitality (Pvt) Ltd and its subsidiaries in Rajasthan. Besides CBI, the CAG, Robert Vadra, his company Skylight Hospitality and DLF Universal Limited have been made respondents in the petition.