Himachal CM Virbhadra Singh chargesheeted in disproportionate assets case

Delhi HC removed interim stay on alleged offences punishable under IPC, Prevention of Corruption Act

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife were Friday charge-sheeted by the CBI in a special court here in a disproportionate assets case, hours after the Delhi High Court denied him any relief and removed the interim stay on his interrogation or arrest.

The charge sheet was filed against nine people including the 82-year-old the Congress leader before special judge Virender Kumar Goyal for alleged offences punishable under section 109 (abetment) of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.

It also named LIC agent Anand Chauhan who is currently in judicial custody. Chauhan was arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 9 last year in a separate money laundering case related to the present case.

The development came hours after the Delhi High Court dismissed the chief minister and his wife's plea seeking quashing of the DA case filed against them by the CBI.

Justice Vipin Sanghi also vacated the Himachal Pradesh High Court's interim order of October 1, 2015 restraining the CBI from arresting, interrogating or filing a charge sheet in the case without the court's permission.

Singh has sought directions from the High Court to quash the FIR registered against him and his wife under Sections 13(2) and 13(1)(e) of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 109 of IPC by the CBI on September 23, 2015 here and urged the court to summon records of the preliminary inquiry and the FIR.

Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha Singh have claimed in their plea that there was no order, direction or judgment by any court that had authorised the CBI to inquire, investigate or register regular cases and exercise jurisdiction in the territory of Himachal Pradesh.

Singh had on October 1, 2015 got an interim order from the Himachal Pradesh High Court restraining the CBI from arresting, interrogating or filing a charge sheet in the case without the court's permission.

The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi High Court, which on April 6, 2016 had asked CBI not to arrest Singh and had directed him to join the probe.

On November 5 last year, the apex court had transferred Singh's plea from Himachal Pradesh HC to Delhi HC, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but "simply" transferring the petition "in interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment".

The charge sheet running into over 500 pages also arrayed Chunni Lal Chauhan, Joginder Singh Ghalta, Prem Raj, Lawan Kumar Roach, Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and Ram Prakash Bhatia as accused in the final report.

The report, filed under section 109 (abetment) and 465 (punishment for forgery) of IPC and under various sections of PC Act claims that the politician had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate by 192 per cent of his total income during his tenure as a Union Minister.

The chargesheet, moved before the court through public prosecutor P K Dogra, has arrayed around 225 witnesses and 442 documents.