Mayawati DA case: SC agrees to hear plea against BSP chief

PTI
NEW DELHI, April 13

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a former BSP member’s plea seeking registration of a fresh FIR against party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for allegedly amassing disproportionate assets.
However, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for CBI, told the court where the probe agency stood on the matter — that Mayawati has been cleared by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) and the Delhi High Court.
The ITAT had probed donations allegedly received by the BSP leader.
A bench of Justices A. R. Dave and A.K. Goel said it would not pass any immediate order in the case but would later hear in detail the petition filed by former BSP member Kamlesh Verma.
‘Nothing to do with Taj Corridor case’
During a brief hearing, Rohatgi said the wealth case against the BSP supremo had nothing to do with the pending Taj Heritage Corridor case.
“Issue of donations to Mayawati had been heard by ITAT and she had been given clean chit in each case. We don’t have any other material. So why should we go on registering another FIR,” the top law officer asked.
At the outset, senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for Mayawati, said this case was politically motivated as the petitioner was out for vendetta after being denied a ticket to contest elections.
“He (Verma) did not get a BSP ticket. He lost on a Congress ticket. Since then, he is carrying out a vendetta against Mayawati,” Venugopal said.
To this, the court said, “How are we concerned with that? We have to look into the facts. We cannot overlook if there is some substance being brought before us by the petitioner.”
The apex court, on August 26, 2014, had granted time to the BSP supremo to file her reply on Verma’s plea, seeking direction to CBI to lodge a fresh FIR against her.
‘Why no fresh FIR?’
The court, which had quashed a disproportionate assets (DA) case against Mayawati on a technical ground in August 2013, had however questioned CBI as to why it did not lodge a fresh FIR in the case.
It had said that CBI should have got proper advice on registration of a fresh case against her after the FIR was quashed.
By its July 2012 verdict, the court had quashed a 9-year long DA case against Mayawati on the ground that the agency proceeded against her without properly understanding its 2003 orders. The orders were confined to the Taj Corridor case relating to the release of Rs. 17 crores by Uttar Pradesh government allegedly without sanction.
Thereafter in May 2013, while reserving its decision on a plea seeking review of its July 2012 judgement, the apex court had clarified that its earlier verdict has not taken away CBI’s power to proceed against her in a separate DA case.
Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, had contended that sufficient evidence has already been collected by CBI during its probe and a charge sheet had been drawn against Mayawati.
“The situation is that despite there being credible evidence having been collected against her indicating her disproportionate assets, she is moving scot free because after collection of evidence and preparation of charge sheet, this Court has found that the investigation was without the authority of law,” Verma’s petition said.
“The inaction of the CBI in registering a fresh FIR against her after taking due sanction under the Delhi Special Police Establishment Act despite there being credible evidence having been collected against her of having disproportionate assets is clearly arbitrary and hence, violative of the Constitution,” it said.