The Bombay High Court today adjourned the contempt petition against the state government, including home minister Gopinath Munde, for two weeks after state advocate general CJ Sawant asked for time to file an affidavit on the matter.

A single judge bench of Justice A P Shah was hearing a petition for admission filed by Anil Joshi, a retired employee of the Mumbai Port Trust, who alleged that the state had deliberately violated assurances given to the high court on implementing the reservation policy in Maharashtra according to Supreme Court directions. The petition urges that Munde and other respondents have deliberately implemented the reservation policy in a manner that gives more and more promotions to persons in the reserved category. The action, he claimed has resulted in reserved category members being promoted at the cost of open category members.

Justice Shah held that it looked like a complete mockery of law. State advocate general C J Sawant howeveraverred that the state had been following SC directions laid down in the R K Sabharwal case in giving promotions to members of the reserved category.

According to SC guidelines, once the roster points are filled up, the roster cannot be operated any further. When a vacancy arises in reserved categories, it must be filled up only with a person of that category. Reservation figures must be arrived at by taking into account the total number of posts and not the number of vacancies. Also, if a junior reserved category candidate is promoted over the head of his senior open category candidate, the senior employee regains his seniority once he is also promoted to the same post.

Investigations in Gholap case near end

The state Central Investigation Department (CID) has almost completed investigations into the Awami Bank scam involving former minister for social welfare, Babanrao Gholap, high court was told. A chargesheet on the matter where Rs 4.5 crore were siphoned off would be filed within a month,additional public prosecutor, Rajiv Patil told a division bench of the Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice S H Kapadia.

The division bench were deliberating on a petition filed by Milind Yavadkar where the social worker had prayed that HC supervise the investigations. Counsel for Yavadkar, P Janardhanan had alleged that with Gholap himself involved in the scam, the CID would be under pressure not to proceed with the investigations. Two status reports on the investigations as demanded by the court were presented today. The court was informed that enquiries by the ACB were also in progress, and it had been given by time till October 31.

Janardhanan however alleged that there was no progress in the investigations since the last hearing of May 3. He alleged that the police had recorded statements where witnesses claimed that kickbacks worth Rs 40 lakh were given to Gholap, but no investigations were done by the police.

He urged the division bench to satisfy themselves on perusing the crime register.The bench then went through the files, but did not comment on the matter. The Chief Justice expressed hopes that the investigations would be completed as soon as possible. He told the public prosecutor to tell the investigating officer, Assistant inspector of Police, Suhas Raikar to complete the investigations without succumbing to any pressure. The petition will now be heard on August 31.