Indian Express

PIL filed in Taj Corridor case in HC

Press Trust of India Posted online: Tue Dec 04 2012, 03:54 hrs
Lucknow : A PIL was filed in the registry of Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Monday challenging the order of the then governor of UP refusing prosecution sanction against former chief minister Mayawati and her cabinet colleague Naseemuddin Siddiqui in the Taj Corridor case.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) will come up for hearing on December 5.

A local lawyer Sachindra Pratap Singh filed the said PIL through his counsel C B Pandey seeking a direction for quashing the order of the then governor, T V Rajeswar dated June 3, 2007.

The petitioner also sought a direction to the CBI to proceed in the matter in accordance with the law. “It has been contended in the PIL that the protection under Section 197 of the CrPC is available on very limited ground,” Pandey told reporters here.

The petitioner said that the governor cannot examine the case on merit and evaluate the evidence.

Under this provision, the governor was required to examine whether prima facie case is not made out against the accused persons and whether it was committed during service in the discharge of official duty, Pandey said.

It might be recalled that on June 5, 2007 the special CBI court had dropped the proceedings against Mayawati and Siddiqui in absence of prosecution sanction which was sought by the CBI.