Sugar factories scam: Bombay HC rejects Anna Hazare's plea for CBI probe

The Bombay High Court on Friday asked social activist Anna Hazare to first file a police complaint, adding that it could not order a CBI inquiry "at this stage" into the alleged sugar cooperative factories scam involving Rs 25,000 crore in which he has named politicians including NCP President Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar.

"First file a police complaint based on your allegations and if they (police) refuse to register it, then approach their higher authorities and even if that does not work out then come to us," the Court remarked.

The bench adjourned the matter to February 13.

Hazare had claimed in his petition that the scam involving the sugar factories had taken back the state by 50 years as it had caused a loss of Rs 10,000 crores to the state exchequer.

The court was hearing a criminal PIL filed by Hazare seeking CBI inquiry into the sugar co-operative factories scam and a probe by Special Investigating Team into the alleged role of politicians.

The petitions alleged that fraud had been committed in governance by first burdening sugar co-operative factories with debts and thereafter selling these sick units at a throw away price, causing loss of Rs 25,000 crore to the government, cooperative sector and members of public.

The petitions name Sharad Pawar and his nephew and former Maharashtra Minister Ajit Pawar as respondents.

The petitions also demanded setting up of a Commission of inquiry to probe the alleged illegal sale of sugar cooperative factories in Maharashtra either by the government or the cooperative banks.

The petitioner stated that the statistics and facts mentioned in the petition have been collected from authorities through Right to Information Act.

Petition had copies of Comptroller and Auditor General's reports of 2007 along with performance reports of sugar factories in Maharashtra apart from audit reports of MSCB by charted accountants.