SC stays proceedings against BJP leader Anurag Thakur, HPCA

In a relief to BJP MP and cricket administrator Anurag Thakur, Supreme Court has stayed criminal proceedings in a Dharamsala court in an alleged corruption case against him and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).
A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and P C Pant issued notices to the state government, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and police officers and sought their response on a petition filed by Thakur and HPCA alleging that the case of cheating and misappropriation of funds against them was politically motivated.
The MP from Hamirpur has challenged the April 25, 2014 order of the Himachal Pradesh High Court which had refused to quash the FIR lodged under various offences of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia and Advocate Abhinav Banerji, appearing for Thakur, contended that the present proceedings arise out of repeated attempts by Singh, who is heading the Congress Government in the state and allegedly misusing his official position aided by statutory authorities like the Registrar of Societies.
They claimed that the corruption case lodged against them was politically motivated to damage their reputation ahead of Lok Sabha elections in 2014.
A case of cheating and misappropriation was filed against HPCA by the state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau in August 2013 over alleged wrongdoings in allotment of land for the construction of a residential complex for players near its stadium in Dharamsala.

The disputed land, which is three km away from the stadium, has been allegedly used by HPCA to build a five-star hotel, The Pavilion, which has 38 rooms, 32 huts and a high- tech gym.
The land was allotted to HPCA when Thakur's father Prem Kumar Dhumal was the Chief Minister of the state between 2007-12.
The FIR registered against Thakur and HPCA said the state government was dishonestly induced into believing that the cricket body is a non-profit society but its status changed to a company in 2012 without the consent of the state.