Former civic chief Jairaj Phatak and ex-state information commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, arrested in the Adarsh society scam, were on Thursday granted bail by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court in Mumbai as the agency failed to file the charge-sheet within the stipulated 60-day period. The duo, which had been in custody since their arrest on April 3, had filed their bail applications on Monday.
This is the second goof-up in a week by a central probe agency last week, the Central Bureau of Investigation had failed to file a chargesheet in the Adarsh society scam within the recommended period, enabling the seven accused to get bail
Reacting to the Environment Ministry's decision to demolish the 31-storey Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai, the society's counsel, Satish Maneshinde on Sunday said that the tenor of the order is completely malafide.
Contesting Environment Ministry's show-cause notice, Mumbai's scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society on Monday demanded an immediate end to proceedings against it, insisting that it had got all the required clearances and the contention otherwise was "misplaced and incorrect".
Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday told the judicial panel probing the Adarsh Society Housing scam that the land where the controversial building stands belongs to the Maharashtra government and was never reserved for defence personnel or Kargil war heroes.
Pinning the blame on former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, suspended state information commissioner and Adarsh Housing Society scam accused Ramanand Tiwari has told the judicial panel probing the case that it was Deshmukh who had approved all proposals pertaining to the high rise in south Mumbai.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has claimed to have found incriminating documents pertaining to the Adarsh Housing Society from the premises of senior Indian Administrative Service officer and former Mumbai civic chief Jairaj Phatak.
Noting that land scams such as Sukna and Adarsh Society have projected armed forces in a "bad" light, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday that policies would be framed to bar local military authorities from directly issuing 'no objection certificates' to private realtors.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had issued directions to submit in 2003 a proposal regarding ownership of the land where the controversial Adarsh Housing Society stands, despite knowing that there was a park constructed by the Army there, City Collector Chandrashekhar Oak told a judicial panel on Wednesday. "A letter was sent by the then collector on August 26, 2003 regarding the allotment of land of Khukri Park to Adarsh Society," Oak said.
Mumbai collector Chandrashekar Oak on Saturdyu stated before the judicial panel probing the Adarsh Society scam that the land on which the building stands belonged to the Maharashtra government, and it is not a security threat to the nearby defence installations.
Maharashtra Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari continues to attend office despite the state government recommending his suspension and barring him from remaining present in office till the inquiry into the Adarsh housing scam gets over."I continue to attend office as I have not got any communication from the state government asking me not to attend office," said Tiwari, a retired IAS officer, whose son owns a flat in Adarsh society.
Now, the 65-year-old leader completes a year in office. It's another matter, which he has yet to settle several administrative and political problems.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, the investigating agency in Adarsh Housing Society scam, to look into the allegations of involvement of Union ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sushil Kumar Shinde, and submit a progress report by next week.
The controversial Adarsh Society in South Mumbai on Tuesday moved the Bombay high court seeking de-freezing of its two bank accounts.
The United Progressive Alliance is seriously considering increasing the strength of the proposed Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam from 21 to 30 members to accommodate more parties, but it is in no mood to expand its scope of the JPC to cover Commonwealth Games (CWG) fiasco, the Adarsh Society scam and the cancelled ISRO S-band spectrum sale.
Two months after initiating a preliminary inquiry, CBI had on January 29 registered an FIR against 13 people, including Chavan, retired army officials, bureaucrats and state government officials on charges of criminal conspiracy, fraud and misuse of their official powers.
Senior NDA leaders held a press conference on Tuesday to present the report of a task force appointed by BJP to look into the issue of Indian black money stashed abroad and ways of dealing with the issue.
A public interest litigation filed in the Bombay high court has demanded that provisions of `Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002' be invoked in the Adarsh Society scam case, and the source of the funds used for the purchase of flats be probed.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has claimed to have found evidence of alleged forgery and manipulation of documents on part of some army officials and bureaucrats in the Adarsh society scam as it gears up to register an FIR in the case.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday circumvented all controversial domestic political issues, including those that surround Telecom Minister A Raja, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's alleged role in the Adarsh Society scam, and the Commonwealth Games fiasco, but assured that he would look into the matter once he returns to India and then make any meaningful comment on it.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday demanded the immediate resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for his alleged role in the Adarsh Society scam.
Maharashtra's beleaguered Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi after his name cropped up in a controversy surrounding the Adarsh housing society in Mumbai. Earlier, Sonia met Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, political secretary to the Congress president Ahmed Patel, All India Congress Committee general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi and Union minister Prithviraj Chavan over the issue.
The CBI has questioned Lt Gen (retd) Tejinder Singh, named by Army Chief Gen V K Singh as the person who had allegedly offered him a bribe of Rs 14 crore, in connection with the Adarsh Society scam.
A day after registering a case in the Adarsh housing society scam, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Sunday carried out searches at various premises in Maharashtra and Bihar that belong to the three main accused named in the FIR. The searches were conducted at the residences and other places of the society's general secretary R C Thakur, retired Brigadier M M Wanchoo and Congress leader K L Gidwani in various parts of Maharashtra and Bihar.
Pulling up the Central Bureau of Investigation for the tardy pace of its probe in the Adarsh Society scam, the Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the investigating agency to expeditiously conclude the investigation and take a final decision on registration of a First Information Report within two weeks.
From scams and inflation to recession and a delay in reopening of colleges for the new academic year, find out what affected young Indians the most.
The Indian Army on Saturday ordered a court of inquiry into the Adarsh Housing Society scam in Mumbai and the alleged role of senior serving and retired officers, including Major General R K Hooda, in it.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday did not name former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan in the benami property related to purchase of flat in the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, whose name has been linked to a property scam related to the Adarsh Society in Colaba, Mumbai, attempted to clarify his stand on Friday.
After receiving flak from the Bombay high court for tardy probe into the Adarsh Society case, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday said it was all set to register a first information report next week which will name some retired army officials and a few politicians.
The state government told the Bombay High Court that it will set up a commission of inquiry to probe the Adarsh Society Housing scam in Mumbai.
In a relief to former Maharashtra chief minister Shivajirao Patil-Nilangekar, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday gave him a clean chit in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed diplomat Devyani Khobragade's father Uttam Khobragade, a former Indian Administrative Service officer, for calling Marathi media casteist after being confronted with a query about her flat in the controversial Adarsh housing society.
Union Minister Milind Deora on Tuesday disagreed with Maharashtra government's rejection of the judicial commission of inquiry report on Adarsh Housing scam which indicted several politicians including three former chief ministers for "blatant violations".
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari was on Monday granted bail by a local court in connection with a defamation case filed by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari.
In a possible relief for former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, the Central Bureau of Investigation moved the Bombay high court seeking permission to delete his name from the FIR in the Adarsh Housing scam case.
Maharashtra government has rejected the report of the judicial commission of inquiry on the Adarsh scam it tabled in the legislative assembly on Friday which indicted several politicians including three former chief ministers for "blatant violations" of statutory provisions.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday gave a clean chit to Maharashtra's rural development minister Jayant Patil in the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
The Maharashtra government has reinstated senior bureaucrats Jairaj Phatak and Pradeep Vyas, who were suspended 2 years ago for their alleged role in the Adarsh housing scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation is likely to seek a review of Maharashtra governor's order refusing to grant sanction for prosecution of former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the multi-crore Adarsh housing scam.