Panchkula society plots: HC issues notices to 3 officials

The petitioners,K C Gupta and two other members of the said Society,have stated in their petition that as per an enquiry recently conducted by Yogesh Kumar,R K Kataria,who was posted as Deputy Commissioner (DC),Panchkula,got a plot in the name of his father,Hari Singh Kataria; Varinder Dahiya,who was then posted as Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM),Panchkula,got a plot in the name of his wife,Aarti Dahiya,and R R Jowel got a plot in the name of his wife,Suman Jowel.

In his enquiry report (dated September 9),Yogesh Kumar had concluded that the district administration of Panchkula and the top officers of the Cooperative department were acting in collusion with S C Sinha,president of the Society. The report was prepared after a petition was filed by K C Gupta and other members of the society seeking an independent probe into alleged irregularities by the Management of the Society.

The previous petition was rendered infructuous after the report was handed over by Yogesh Kumar. After going through the report,the petitioners have now again moved the High Court demanding that the State Vigilance Department or the CBI be directed to prosecute the above three officers and the plots allotted in favour of their close relatives be cancelled.

The petitioners have also demanded that all those plots that have been illegally allotted to various persons as per the report of Yogesh Kumar be cancelled. Contending on behalf of the petitioners,Arora maintained that

S C Sinha should be removed from the chairmanship of the Society as he has been continuing as chairman for the past 18 years at a stretch,in violation of the provisions of the Haryana Cooperative Societies Act,1984.

Key findings of the report

*Assistant Registrar,Naraingarh,on the basis of request from S C Sinha (which was not supported by any resolution from the management of the Society) transferred the share of one “Manish Kumar” to the name of “Suman Jowel” (wife of R R Jowel) under pressure from R R Jowel,the then Registrar of Cooperative Societies.

*“Facts and circumstances of the case clearly prove that there was collusion among the officers of the cooperative department,district administration and office bearers of the Society.

*Annual General Meeting of society was held on July 20,2008 at Hotel Pallavi,Panchkula,and attended by 16 outsiders as relatives on behalf of the members of the Society.