Plea to make ex-CM as accused in Adarsh case withdrawn in HC

A division bench of Bombay High Court today declined to hear a plea seeking direction to CBI to include former Maharashtra Chief Minister Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar as an accused in Adarsh housing society scam and instead asked the petitioner to approach a single Judge bench of the same court.
Social activist Pravin Wategaonkar had filed a petition alleging that Patil had, during his tenure as Revenue Minister, granted certain approvals to Adarsh society illegally. In return, Patil's son-in-law Arun Dawle was allotted a flat in the plush high-rise in south Mumbai, Wategaonkar alleged.
A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudesai allowed Wategaonkar to withdraw his petition with liberty to move the court of a single Judge on the issue.

The division bench was of the view that the petitioner should first move a single Judge to seek a direction to file his complaint with an investigating agency. Thereafter, if need be, the petitioner can approach a division bench if he wanted the case to be transferred to CBI from a state investigation agency, said the Judges.
The activist had approached the high court after the sessions court rejected his application.
Wategaonkar relied on an application of CBI in the lower court, seeking the custody of former MLA and Adarsh promoter Kanhaiyalal Gidwani when he was arrested.
"CBI in its remand application said Gidwani had opened an account in Kallappanna Awade Ichalkaranji Janata Sahakari Bank in Sangli under a proxy name, in which huge amounts of cash were deposited by him from time to time. Most of the amount deposited was then transferred to the accounts of his wife, sons and daughters-in-law and also to the account of M/s Jai Maharashtra in which his sons are directors," the application said.

"The said amounts were used for making payments towards the benami flats booked in Adarsh. Arun Dawle, son-in-law of Patil-Nilangekar, received at least Rs 17.60 lakh from Jai Maharashtra account. Nilangekar misused his official position and showed undue favours to the society. In return, Dawle was alloted flat in the Society," Wategaonkar alleged.