HC asks Maha govt if it will table Adarsh report in winter session

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to inform if it plans to table the report of the judicial commission, which probed the Adarsh housing society scam, during the winter session of the state Assembly beginning next month.

A division bench of Justices VM Kanade and MS Sonak was hearing a petition filed by Maharashtra BJP seeking a direction to the government to table the report before the legislature.

The petition, filed by BJP MLA Yogesh Sagar and party spokesperson Atul Shah, alleged a conspiracy behind the government's reluctance to make public the report and said it was trying to bury the matter.

"The commission submitted its report to the government on April 18 this year. As per rule it has to be tabled along with an action taken report within six months.

But till date it has not been done despite assurances by the Chief Minister," petitioners' lawyer Ganesh Sovani said.

Additional government pleader GW Mattos told the court that the winter session of the Assembly will start on December 9 and hence he would take instructions from the government.

"If the government is going to table the report in the assembly session then this petition would not survive," Mattos said.

The court asked Mattos to take instructions and inform it accordingly on December 5.

The state government had in January 2011 set up the commission headed by retired High Court judge JA Patil to inquire into allegations that the land where the Adarsh society building stands belonged to the Ministry of Defence, that it was reserved for war widows and veterans, but bureaucrats and politicians had flouted norms while granting permissions and in return of the favours had got flats.

The Commission in its interim report had held that the land belonged to the state and was not reserved for war widows and army veterans.

The panel submitted its final report on April 18 this year. The Commission had recorded statements of several defence officials, bureaucrats and former Maharashtra chief ministers Ashok Chavan, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushilkumar Shinde.

Chavan is the only former chief minister named as an accused in the case being probed by the CBI.