In the High Court

“The CBI,which is investigating the scam in two districts,eight cases of Ballia and one of Lakhimpur Kheri,in its report prime facie admits a nexus between politicians,bureaucrats,transporters and exporters,” said K K Singh,counsel of petitioner Vishwanath Chaturvedi who claims that a foodgrain scam to the tune of Rs 1 lakh crore had taken place in 2001,during the tenure of Mulayam Singh Yadav.

According to the PIL,the scam had spread to more than 31 districts and despite an order issued by the High Court in 2005,the Centre and state government had not taken any step to identify and book the culprits.

Alleging that senior officers involved in illegally exporting foodgrain to Nepal and Bangladesh were enjoying plum postings,the petitioner had urged the court to get the scam probed by the CBI.

The CBI,in turn,has requested the court to form a joint investigation team.

The next hearing will be held on February 17.

Notice to Railways for charging extra money from pilgrims
The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Secretary of the Ministry of Railways,seeking details of the surcharge the Railways has levied on passengers travelling to and returning from Haridwar.

The Bench of Justices Pradeep Kant and Rituraj Awasthi,while fixing the next date of hearing on February 3,asked the ministry to clarify grounds for charging extra money for Haridwar-bound pilgrims.

The court was hearing a PIL by Vinod Shanker Mishra,secretary general of Hindu Personal Law Board,which had accused the Railways of imposing a Jaziya-like tax on the Mahakumbh pilgrims.

“The government gives subsidy to Haj pilgrims,but it charges extra money from those going to Haridwar for Mahakumbh. We have sought the court’s intervention to stop this discrimination,” said Ashok Pandey,the petitioner’s counsel.

The PIL claims that the Ministry,on January 10,had announced extra charges varying from Rs 3 to Rs 15 from passengers during the Mahakumbh — held from January 14 to April 28.