Cash for CLU case: HC stays Haryana Lokayukta order for FIR against 5 ex-MLAs

The accused are former health minister Rao Narender Singh, former Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Vinod Bhayana and MLAs Jarnail Singh, Naresh Selval and Ram Niwas Ghorela. Although allegations against four of them are pertaining to demand of illegal gratification in CLU cases, the allegation against Ram Niwas Ghorela is of demanding bribe so as to get a file cleared in the department of Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

Petitioners have challenged Lokayukta’s order and also the report submitted by then Haryana ADGP V Kamaraja on April 28 in which he had also recommended registration of criminal case against ex-MLAs under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Also, a high court division bench headed by Justice Hemant Gupta on Thursday issued notice of motion to the Haryana government on an application moved by former Congress CPS, Ram Kishan Fauji, seeking vacation of the high court division bench stay ordered on December 15 on its single judge’s order. The judge had earlier quashed Haryana Lokayukta’s order for registration of criminal case against Fauji for allegedly seeking Rs. 5 crore for getting CLU permission for a Gurgaon land in September 2013. Fauji’s case will now come up on February 1.

However, the five ex-MLAs have alleged in their petitions that the complaint preferred against them is a “bundle of lies.” It has been submitted that the Lokayukta failed to appreciate that after the expiry of one year, he did not have jurisdiction to proceed with the inquiry. It was further added that in case the Lokayukta and the inquiry officer would have bothered to verify the video in the CD even once, they would have realised that even as per the CD no such conversation of any bribe took place in the presence of the petitioners. The petitioners submitted that the Lokayukta has specifically recorded that no money had exchanged hands.

It has also been submitted that the entire report of the Lokayukta is simply based on the CD and without considering that no original source is produced or established to satisfy the fact that the CD is an original copy derived from the primary source.

Five separate complaints were filed in the case before the Haryana Lokayukta on the basis of compact discs (CDs) prepared in sting operation conducted in 2013 by one Dharmender Kuhar and the CDs allegedly show these ex-MLAs making the demand for bribe. The CDs were released by INLD leaders in September 2013.