Monday, December 24, 2012

HOUSING SCAM MAHARASHTRA : Court rejects Suresh Jain’s bail application

Aurangabad: Justice M T Joshi of the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court on Monday rejected the bail application of former state housing minister Suresh Jain while directing the special judge, Jalgaon, to frame charges against him and others as expeditiously as possible.

Jain, who was arrested for his involvement in the Rs 169-crore Jalgaon housing scam, is being treated at St George Hospital in Mumbai, where he was admitted on November 3, said special public prosecutor Pravin Chavan. On October 18, the Supreme Court had rejected Jain’s bail plea while asking the special court in Jalgaon to frame charges against him and the other accused.

Jain had approached the special judge in Jalgaon on October 3, seeking direction to the authorities to release him on bail under Section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) as there was no sanction for his prosecution under Section 197 of CrPC and Section 19 (3) of Prevention of Corruption Act (1988) and that the chargesheet submitted by the investigation officer was not a chargesheet in the eye of the law. “Hence, he claimed, his detention was illegal and unauthorized and he be released on bail,’’ said Chavan. The trial court had rejected his bail application on October 6.

Jain approached the Aurangabad bench of the HC on October 9. Opposing the bail plea, Chavan said there “was no official duty entrusted to Suresh Jain and that he has ceased to be a minister’’. He said a housing scheme for the low income group was introduced by the Centre and implemented through Hudco and it was accepted by the Jalgaon Municipal Council (which later became municipal corporation). “There is no connection of the scheme with the office of the state’s housing ministry.’’

Chavan said the main chargesheet was submitted on April 25, 2012, while a supplementary chargesheet was filed on June 1.
COURTESY:
Syed Rizwanullah TNN
http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/12/18&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00202&ViewMode=HTML

No comments:

Post a Comment