Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Friday dismissed a plea by Haryana’s former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to stall his trial in a corruption case linked to a case of land deal of Manesar, Gurugram, as the Supreme Court had stayed proceedings against several of his co-accused in the same case.
Rejecting Hooda’s plea, Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya held that the pendency of stay orders in favour of others cannot be used as a shield to stall a trial. The high court's dismissal of Hooda’s plea paves the way for his trial in the case by CBI court.
For record, the case stems from an FIR registered against Hooda and others in 2015 at Manesar in Gurugram district of Haryana, accusing them of cheating, criminal conspiracy and misuse of official position by ``forcing’’ landowners to sell their holdings in panic under threat of government acquisition for public purpose. The farmers alleged that after the acquisition was abandoned, the private builders were given permissions for change of land use thus causing huge losses to the government and farmers benefiting the accused.
The CBI took over the case in 2018 and in December 2020, a special CBI court in Panchkula, near here, rejected the discharge applications and directed that charges be framed against the accused. However, several of Hooda’s co-accused moved the high court and later the top court, securing stay.
However, though Hooda moved the trial court in September, this year, seeking to put off the trial as all the accused faced the same conspiracy charge, the court rejected his plea on September 19 fixing October 30, for framing of charges against him and other accused not covered by the apex court. Hooda moved the high court seeking directions to quash the CBI special judge’s order.
