Relief for Hooda: HC stays Dhingra Commission report in Gurugram land scam

Punjab and Haryana High Court division bench on Thursday observed that Dhingra Commission's order to summon former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda with regards to the Gurugram land scam was not in accordance with the rules.

The court added that the Haryana Government had enough material to set up the commission, but restrained government from publishing the report.

The Justice S N Dhingra Commission was set up on May 14, 2015, by the BJP government in Haryana led by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to probe grant of licences for development of commercial colonies in Gurugram.

Robert Vadra, the brother-in-law of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, was among the alleged beneficiaries.

The one-man Commission submitted its 182-page report to the state government on August 31, 2016. However, Hooda challenged Commission's constitution in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Hooda earlier had petitioned the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the panel and had accused the government of resorting to political vendetta.

Justice Dhingra's report has alleged abuse of power and illegal gratification in the grant of licences while citing examples of how approvals were granted or denied in violation of the law and laid-down procedures.

The commission has also called for an investigation against Hooda and said that his conduct falls under the purview of the Prevention of Corruption Act.