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| 'Chargesheet ready against Mayawati in disproportionate assets case' |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Jul 11, 2009, 14:08 IST |
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The CBI has informed the Supreme Court that it was ready with a chargesheet against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the five-year-old disproportionate assets(DA) case which the BSP supremo alleged was politically motivated.
"The competent authority has already taken a decision to file final report under section 173 of the criminal procedure code in the designated trial court," the affidavit filed by the CBI said.
The matter which was listed for hearing on July 13 has been adjourned for two months after Uttar Pradesh's Additional Advocate General Shail Kumar Dwivedi yesterday told a Bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan that the state government would file a counter to the agency's affidavit.
CBI counsel added there has not been any changes in its stand to what the apex court was informed on January 12 when it had said there was enough evidence to prosecute Mayawati in the case.
CBI had questioned her declared assets of Rs.1 crore in 2003 going up to Rs.50 crore in 2007 and said there was "ample evidence" to show she had amassed wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income.
Mayawati has claimed that she had received the money through donations from party workers which included meagre sums of Rs.5 and Rs.10 which they contributed on her birthday.
The UP CM filed a petition in May 2008 seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings against her in the case alleging it was registered due to "political reasons".
The investigating agency in July last had responded to the apex court notice stating that there was sufficient evidence to show that Mayawati amassed wealth disproportionate to her known sources of income.
The CBI, which had lodged a DA case against the BSP chief in 2003, alleged that the assets shown by her in the Akbarpur parliamentary constituency were worth over Rs 1 crore whereas the assets increased to over Rs 50 crore in her declaration papers submitted during the 2007 assembly polls.
The agency had added that she had been questioned about the wealth over a period of three years and Mayawati had claimed that it came from donations of party workers.
However, the agency contended that Mayawati's reasoning was not plausible and that it was likely to file a chargesheet against her soon.
The agency refuted Mayawati's allegation that the UPA government was using the probe to serve its political interests.
The CBI had registered the FIR against Mayawati on October 5, 2003 after the apex court had ordered the agency to investigate the Rs 175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor scam.
When the matter had come for hearing earlier, the Centre had said the two reports placed before the apex court by the CBI on September 18, 2003 contained the issue relating to the assets.
It had said that Mayawati was participating in the inquiry since 2005 which could have been concluded by 2006 but has been delayed as the Chief Minister was making several representations — even to the Prime Minister — as she was "scared" of the investigation's outcome.
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