Journalism of Courage
A special CBI court in Panchkula granted bail to former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in the Rs 1500-crore Manesar land scam on Tuesday. Hooda made his first appearance in the court in the case in which the chargesheet was filed on February 1.
Early on in March, the CBI court had issued summons to Hooda and other senior officials and some private promoters accused in the matter, directing them to appear before the court in relation to the Manesar land case. The accused including Hooda have been charged with criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B IPC) and cheating (Section 420 IPC) along with provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Read more: SC indicts Hooda govt, calls its decision ‘clear case of fraud’
On March 13, the Supreme Court set aside the Hooda-led Haryana government’s 2007 decision quashing its 2004 notification to acquire 912 acres from three villages in Gurgaon in order to set up an industrial township. The top court had asked CBI to invetigate the case thoroughly and unearth “unnatural gains” received by the middlemen.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on March 13 had informed that the Haryana government had handed over the Manesar land case to the CBI.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s observation on the Manesar case, Khattar said, “It has termed such activities as mala fide exercise of powers and a clear case of misuse of power. Apart from this, the apex court has also ordered to investigate the role of middlemen in land acquisition. Now everything would be revealed during the investigation.”
In 2004, the then state government had issued a notification for acquiring land in Manesar, Lakhnoula and Naurangpur. In the wake of the notification, many farmers sold off their lands at low prices to private builders. Three years later, the government issued a directive to drop the acquisition notification. The apex court had directed the land to be vested with Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA)/Haryana Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC).
