Why has Greater Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari been sentenced to jail? Know charges against her

Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) Chief Executive Officer Ritu Maheshwari has been sentenced to jail for one month and an arrest warrant has been issued by the Greater Noida police authority, according to reports.

A warrant to arrest Maheshwari has been issued to the Gautam Budh Nagar Police Commissioner Laxmi Singh. The District Consumer Forum directed these orders on Saturday in this matter taking place for nearly 18 years, as per IANS reports.

Ritu Maheshwari has been sentenced to prison regarding a case which is between a plot allottee and the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA). The case was originally filed around 18 years ago, regarding an incident that happened in 2001.

Why has arrest warrant been issued against Ritu Maheshwari?

The case against Ritu Maheshwari and GNIDA was filed after a man named Mahesh Mitra had applied for plot allotment in 2001. However, the GNIDA did not allot the land to Mitra, which prompted him to file a case in the District Consumer Forum in 2005.

As per the order issued by the forum in the matter, the GNIDA was supposed to allot a plot of the area between 1,000 to 2,500 square metre to Mitra as per his requirement upon which the terms and conditions of the GNIDA will continue to apply.

Not just this, but the Greater Noida Authority was also ordered to pay the entire legal fees in the matter. GNIDA ended up approaching the State Consumer Commission in the matter, which said in 2010 that the registration amount of Rs 20,000 deposited with the Development Authority by Mitra would be returned.

In 2014, the National Consumer Commission was involved in the case and it ruled in the favour of Mahesh Mitra. While the NCC said that the plot of land needs to be appointed to Mitra, the decision was not implemented by the GNIDA.

On July 14, 2017, the District Consumer Forum attached the bank accounts of the GNIDA. Opposing this action, the Greater Noida Development Authority filed an appeal to the State Consumer Commission. The State Commission then quashed the judgment announced by the District Consumer Forum.

Now, the District Consumer Forum has issued an order regarding the case, which led to a warrant of arrest being issued for Ritu Maheshwari, who is the CEO of Greater Noida Authority. She has been fined Rs 2,000 and a warrant has been sent to the Gautam Budh Nagar Police Commissioner to arrest the CEO.

Not just this, but Maheshwari has been ordered to follow through with the order of the National Consumer Commission in the next 15 days.

(With IANS inputs)

READ | NCR news: Ritu Maheshwari, CEO of Greater Noida Authority, sentenced to one month in jail