HC calls for consolidated report

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday asked the counsel for the petitioner to present before it a consolidated report of all names surfacing in the HUDA multiple allotment case.

The Bench made it clear that anyone having information on double allotment, including plots and flats, could provide it to counsel Harmanjit Singh Sethi to incorporate it in his report. For the purpose, the Bench of Justice Daya Chaudhary set a month’s deadline.

The report eventually submitted would be discussed by Sethi, the HUDA Chief Administrator and Advocate-General BR Mahajan for giving it final shape.

The Bench, during the course of hearing, expressed dissatisfaction over a status report submitted by the state in response to two applications by Sethi.

Assailing the report, Sethi said IAS officer TC Gupta had virtually been given a clean chit in the multiple allotment matter by referring to a policy though the Bench had already recorded judicial finding against him. Sethi added that an FIR was required to be lodged against him.

Referring to former IPS officer RC Jowel’s case, Sethi said the status report said an FIR had been lodged against him through the previous report showed it as cancelled.

The status report was vague as it failed to specify whether a new FIR had been registered or reference was to the previous case. He added that an FIR had not been registered against former DGP Ranjeev Dalal and his wife though two plots were allotted.

Sethi told the Bench that allotments in the EWS category were made to 62 HUDA officials, including junior engineers and head clerks, though the family income was required to be Rs 2,500 per month.

Alleging a pick-and-choose policy, Sethi added that AS Vaidya and his daughter were named by HUDA as beneficiaries. The family allotment in their case was contrary to policy, yet an FIR was not registered.

The directions came more than two years after alleged discrimination in initiation of action by HUDA in multiple plot allotment case was brought to the High Court’s notice.