Delhi HC to hear PIL seeking CBI probe into Vadra land deals

New Delhi - The Delhi High Court on Tuesday fixed May 21 for hearing a plea for a CBI probe into licences granted to real estate developers in Haryana, including one allegedly associated with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra. A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice R.S. Endlaw adjourned the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) saying it would hear it 21 May . [caption id=“attachment_1521411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Robert Vadra. PTI[/caption] Advocate M.L. Sharma moved the court, saying 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, Sharma alleged. In his PIL, he contended that allocation of licences for developing colonies was contrary to the provisions of the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act, 1975. It sought Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Shashi Kant Sharma’s letter of June 3, 2013, be quashed. The letter allegedly sought to roll back the audit and inquiry into the grant of licence to Skylight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., that is said to be associated with Vadra. The plea said the inquiry was ordered by Sharma’s predecessor Vinod Rai. Sharma claimed the department of town and country planning (DTCP) issued hundreds of licences for over 21,000 acres of land spread over Gurgaon city and other parts of the state from 2005 to 2012. “Issuing colony licences by the DTCP in Haryana in the name of an individual who is not the owner of a land, is not only illegal but also clear case of corruption within the provision of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988,” the plea said. “To support or give undue favour is corruption, which has been hatched in the Haryana colony licence deal for Vadra and others,” it added. The PIL was filed against the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the CAG, Skylight Hospitality, Vadra, and the DLF Universal Limited. The petition also sought a probe into the land deals entered into by Skylight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and its subsidiaries in Rajasthan. IANS