Adarsh: HC refuses to drop Ashok Chavan from accused list

The court added a lot of time had already been spent during the pendency of the application.

After the order, Ashok Chavan sought a fresh hearing.

The Bombay High Court has rejected the plea of State Congress head and former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan seeking a recall of an earlier order wherein the HC had rejected application of CBI seeking the dropping of Chavan’s name from the list of accused in Adarsh Housing society scam case.

“The application is dismissed. The prayer to stay the order is rejected,” said Justice M L Tahaliyani while adding a lot of time had already been spent during the pendency of the application.

Justice Tahaliyani had November last rejected CBI’s plea seeking to drop Chavan’s name from its chargesheet. The judge had observed that the Special CBI judge took cognisance of the offence saying in “very unambiguous” language that Chavan’s exoneration for want of sanction from the Governor for prosecution of the offences under the IPC did not entitle relief from other offences under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

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After the order, Chavan, through senior counsel Amit Desai, sought a fresh hearing, contending that the HC did not arguments on cognisance taken by the trial court. Desai contended it was contrary to the Principles of Natural Justice and sought recall of the HC order.

The CBI’s contention had been that the then Governor had refused to grant sanction for the prosecution of the former CM. Chavan’s lawyer, senior counsel Amit Desai, had then said the likes of former CM Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar, former minister Jayant Patil and bureaucrat D Shankaran had not been made accused despite their relatives getting membership in the housing society.

As far as granting 15 per cent exemption for recreation ground (RG) space was concerned, Desai contended that not granting benefit of the exemption to the society would have meant discrimination as it was in public interest and led to legal implications.

In addition, the CBI’s lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar had told the court that former Governor K Sankaranarayanan had refused to grant sanction on the ground that there was no material given by CBI to show criminal conspiracy or to prosecute him under Section 120 (b) of the IPC. Relying on this, Venegaonkar contended that Section 13 1(d) (criminal misconduct by government servant) of the PCA would not stand as the allegations were only of granting exemption of 15 per cent RG to Adarsh, but it was within his powers.

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When asked about the next legal step after the dismissal of their application, Desai told The Indian Express, “Unless we see the order we cannot say anything.”

Aamir Khan

Aamir Khan is the Head-Legal Project for Indian Express Digital, based in New Delhi. With over 14 years of professional experience, Aamir's background as a legal professional and a veteran journalist allows him to bridge the gap between complex judicial proceedings and public understanding. Expertise Specialized Legal Authority: Aamir holds an LLB from CCS University, providing him with the formal legal training necessary to analyze constitutional matters, statutes, and judicial precedents with technical accuracy. Experience Press Trust of India (PTI): Served as News Editor, where he exercised final editorial judgment on legal stories emerging from the Supreme Court of India and various High Courts for the nation's primary news wire. Bar and Bench: As Associate Editor, he led the vanguard of long-form legal journalism, conducting exclusive interviews and producing deep-dive investigative series on the most pressing legal issues of the day. Foundational Reporting: His expertise is built on years of "boots-on-the-ground" reporting for The Indian Express (Print) and The Times of India, covering the legal beats in the high-intensity hubs of Mumbai and Delhi. Multidisciplinary Academic Background: * LLB, CCS University. PG Diploma in Journalism (New Media), Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai. BSc in Life Sciences and Chemistry, Christ College, Bangalore—an asset for reporting on environmental law, patent litigation, and forensic evidence. ... Read More

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