Quash FIR,former CM Chavan tells HC

“The probe and the FIR being ex-facie without jurisdiction are illegal,arbitrary,unreasonable,unjustified,unconstitutional and an infringement on the life and liberty of the applicant without following the due procedure of law,” Chavan’s application says. The allegations made in the FIR are “false,malafide and motivated”,it says,and that “his (Chavan’s) inclusion in the FIR is part of a larger political controversy to keep (him) away from public affairs and politics.”

Refuting allegations that he had included civilians as members of the society,Chavan,who served as revenue minister in 2000,said the society had,in 1999,itself decided the to induct civilians.

Three of Chavan’s relatives were allegedly allotted apartments in the 31-storey residential tower in Colaba. He denied any wrongdoing. “In the first approved list there were no relatives of the applicant,” the application said. “Also,the function of allotment of land and approval of membership was with the chief minister and not with the revenue minister,” Chavan has argued. The chief minister then was Vilasrao Deshmukh. “There was no expedition in the process of allotment of land after the alleged induction of civilian members as alleged in the FIR in as much as the allotment of land took (place) on July 9,2004 nearly four-and-a-half years from the time the society applied to the CM on February 7,2000,” he said.

Chavan said he was not a party in the proceedings before the HC,but after reading media reports,he had “learnt that there was an apparent lack of jurisdiction of CBI”. The court is likely to hear the plea on Tuesday.