PIL wants CBI to disclose Shinde, Deshmukh's role in Adarsh

With CBI not naming Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Vilasrao Deshmukh in its charge sheet in the Adarsh scam, a social activist today moved the Bombay High Court seeking direction to the agency to file a report on its investigations against them.

"The investigating agency since last year has been telling the high court that it was looking into the role of the two union ministers. But in the charge sheet filed on July 4, CBI has not mentioned anything about the ministers' role in the scam," the application by Pravin Wategaonkar seeking a report from the CBI on the roles of Shinde and Deshmukh, said.

Wategaonkar, who had earlier filed a PIL seeking a probe by the Enforcement Directorate into alleged money laundering by the Adarsh society members, mentioned his application before a division bench of Justices S A Bobade and Mridula Bhatkar.

The bench kept the petition for hearing on August 3 along with the other PILs in the scam and asked the petitioner to serve a copy of his application to the Adarsh society and CBI.

In his application, Wategaonkar has alleged that despite being a public servant Deshmukh was aligned more to the private interests of the Adarsh society than the larger public interest.

Relying on Deshmukh's deposition before a two-member inquiry commission set up to probe the matter, the application states, "Deshmukh told the judicial panel that he had allowed reduction of the width of a road adjacent to the society in south Mumbai and that if he had not approved this reduction the Adarsh building could not have been constructed."

"From the deposition it is clear that Deshmukh helped carve out space for the society by reducing the width of a public road. Deshmukh as chief minister obtained for Adarsh, a private entity, a public utility road," he said.

"These actions by a chief minister bring out culpability under the Prevention of Corruption Act for criminal misconduct by a public servant," the application said.

Apart from Deshmukh and Shinde, Wategaonkar has also sought directions to CBI to disclose details of its probe into the role of former army chief Deepak Kapoor and IAS officer I A Kundan.