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.
A Defence Ministry probe has "prima facie" found a "criminal conspiracy" in scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society project in Mumbai in which some relatives of Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan being beneficiaries has emerged.
The Congress on Wednesday sought to put Bharatiya Janata Party in the dock in the Mumbai's Adarsh Housing Society scam alleging that one of its beneficiaries is "very very close" to BJP president Nitin Gadkari, triggering strong protest from the main Opposition.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan is in trouble over the Adarsh Housing Society scam. While he met Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Saturday and gave her the entire information on the housing society, sources say that the chief minister may not be losing power soon as is being speculated, with United States President Barrack Obama arriving in Mumbai on November 5 for a high decibel visit.
A retired army officer on Tuesday told a judicial commission that he became a member of the Adarsh Housing Society after he was informed by his staff that the land on which the controversial high rise stands does not belong to the Ministry of Defence.
Ashok Chavan, who was the revenue minister from 1999-2003 when land was allotted to the Adarsh Housing Society, on Monday said that the plot was sanctioned by the then chief minister and he had no role to play in it.
Against the backdrop of the Adarsh scam, the government on Saturday blamed the complex land title system for the increasing number of such cases and favoured urgent reforms in the sector to make it transparent and effective. "The recent scandal related to Adarsh housing society is a classic example. Nobody knows to whom the land belongs," Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy said. He added, "Can there be a more sorry example of land titling?"
Maharashtra Industries Minister and Congress leader Narayan Rane on Wednesday claimed that had not taken any decision regarding the controversial Adarsh Housing Society during his tenure as the chief minister. Making a suo-motu statement in the Legislative Assembly in Mumbai, Rane said an application regarding the proposed society had come to him on September 21, 1999. He said he forwarded the application to the revenue department with the remark "submit a report immediately"
Former city collector Pradeep Vyas on Saturday told the judicial panel probing the Adarsh Housing Society scam that the corrigendum issued by Maharashtra government on the ownership and possession of the land on which the society stands, was "factually incorrect". He also conceded that the land was in defence ministry's possession then, contrary to the corrigendum.
The Environment Ministry is expected to take a final decision on the controversial Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai on Tuesday when the extension given to it on a show-cause notice comes to an end.
The Central Bureau of Investigation, probing the multi-crore Adarsh Housing Society scam, has recorded the statement of Union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, who had dealt with files pertaining to the society during his tenure as Maharashtra chief binister.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday opposed a petition filed by controversial Adarsh Housing Society seeking defreezing of its bank accounts, saying that the money could be part of "ill-gotten and benami" wealth.
A year after an inquiry commission was set up to probe the scam-tainted Adarsh Housing Society, the Maharashtra government has sought an interim report from the panel. The state government has filed an application before the two-member inquiry commission, seeking an interim report on two of the 13 issues being looked into by the judicial panel.
The defence ministry on Friday filed a title suit before the Bombay high court seeking claim on the land on which the scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society building stands, alleging the residential complex has been constructed 'illegally and unlawfully'.
Adarsh Society's members have approached the defence ministry and the Central Bureau of Investigation, seeking quashing of the FIR filed in the alleged multi-crore scam in the housing society, in the wake of a judicial probe of the Maharashtra government which had stated that the land belonged to the state and not the defence forces.
Maps and some survey sheets pertaining to the Adarsh Housing Society that went missing from the state land records department have been traced, a judicial panel probing the scam was on Tuesday informed.
At least six officials of Maharashtra government have been questioned in connection with the theft of key documents pertaining to the scam-ridden Adarsh housing society, but no breakthrough has been achieved yet, a senior official said on Monday.
In a breather for the Adarsh Housing Society, the Bombay high court on Wednesday said that before passing any "drastic" order -- such as giving a nod for demolition -- it would first hear the society and the environment ministry.
Some pages from files pertaining to the controversial Adarsh Housing Society have gone missing from the Mumbai-based headquarters of the Ministry of Defence.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan allegedly showed undue favours to scam-hit Adarsh Housing Society and asked its managing committee members to make recommendations for allowing 40 per cent allocation for civilians, according to the FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
After the Environment Ministry recommended demolition of the Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai, Defence Minister A K Antony on Thursday said he would take a decision on the issue after getting the Central Bureau of Investigation report. "We will take a decision after the CBI inquiry is over," he told mediapersons in New Delhi.
The Maharashtra government on Tuesday decided to recommend to the governor the suspension of state Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari for his alleged role in the Adarsh Housing Society scam. Tiwari should not attend office till the inquiry into the scam concludes, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan told reporters after a meeting of the state cabinet chaired by him. "For Tiwari to continue in office is not in the interest of the state," said Chavan.
Observing that investigations had reached a crucial stage, a special court today rejected the bail plea of seven accused, including former Congress legislator K L Gidwani, in the multi-crore Adarsh housing society scam.
Senior IAS officers Pradeep Vyas and Jairaj Phatak have been placed under suspension pending investigation in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, Maharashtra government informed the Bombay high court on Thursday.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi has accepted Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan's resignation in the wake of the Adarsh Housing Society scam.Chavan had earlier offered to resign over the scam that has erupted about the construction of a high-rise building in a posh area of Mumbai. The Congress high command is reportedly upset with Chavan, whose mother-in-law and two other relatives are among the 103 members of the controversial Adarsh Housing Society.
Amid reports that more leaders from Congress and Nationalist Congress Party from Maharashtra could have links with the controversial Adarsh Housing Society, three ex-Maharashtra chief ministers and a NCP leader have claimed they had not recommended any case for membership.
In a U-turn, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on Thursday told the two-member inquiry commission probing the Adarsh housing society scam that he is ready to appear before it on June 30. Chavan, an accused in the Adarsh case, had on May 22 sought exemption from appearance before the judicial panel.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday rejected the bail pleas of six accused in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, including former Maharashtra bureaucrats Jairaj Pathak and Ramanand Tiwari. The court refused to grant them liberty, accepting CBI's argument that the investigation was still in progress.
A day after rapping several Maharashtra government departments for failing to submit documents in connection with the Adarsh Housing Society scam, the commission probing the matter on Tuesday pulled up the Union law ministry after its senior lawyer and official skipped the panel's proceedings in Mumbai.
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 Governor C Vidyasagar Rao gives sanction to the CBI to prosecute former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh scam case.
The order was passed by a bench headed by Justice B H Marlapalle, which directed the CBI to submit a progress report within three weeks.
Claiming to have foiled a conspiracy to bribe public servants for diluting charges in the multi-crore Adarsh Housing Society scam, the Central Bureau of I on Wednesday arrested its own lawyer and a former Congress MLC, who is already an accused in the scam.
Indian Army Chief General V K Singh on Thursday said allegations against top military officers including some former services chiefs in the Adarsh housing society scam in Mumbai has "shamed" his force and its image taken a "beating".
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was among the 13 people figuring as accused in the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday in connection with the Adarsh housing society scam which also names some retired senior Army officials.
The case pertaining to the theft of key documents in Adarsh Housing Society scam was transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch on Sunday due to seriousness of the issue.
The finance minister along with his cabinet colleague and Defence Minister A K Antony have been asked by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to submit a report on the scam.
In an apparent reference to Mumbai's Adarsh housing society scam, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said the case should be disposed of speedily and the guilty should be brought to justice.
Three former government employees, including retired defence estates officer, R C Thakur and Brigadier (retd) M M Wanchoo, arrested on Tuesday in the Adarsh Housing Society scam, were on Wednesday remanded to the Central Bureau of Investigation custody till March 31.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the 2G spectrum scam along with those of Commonwealth Games projects and Adarsh Housing society are neither correct nor timely, Communist Party of India said on Saturday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances