“Har shaakh pe ullu baitha hai…”
Some of you may have already picked this up “Congress alleges bias in Noida land deals“. If not, read on:
“Senior Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Sunday released a list of individuals, judges and bureaucrats who were granted plots in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi….
…The list released by the Congress includes Sheeba Sabhrawal, daughter-in-law of the former CJI YK Sabhrawal, Aarohi Bhalla, son of Justice Bhalla, who’s recent promotion was questioned by President APJ Abdul Kalam.
It also includes sitting judges of the Allahabad High Court Justice Uday Kriand Justice Poonam Srivastava. The list says Flex industries and its Ashok Chaturvedi, known to be close to UP’s ruling party, received as many as six plots.
…This is the first time an allegation has been made about a nexus between the top judiciary and a political party. Notably, all 625 allotments were cancelled on the orders of the Allahabad High Court on complaints that this allotment was arbitrary and lacked transparency in 2005.
The previous chief justice of India whose daughter-in-law’s name is on the list accused the Congress of playing dirty politics on the judiciary.”
In his defense, Justice Sabhrawal said that ”...Six or seven people from my family applied which includes my two sons two daughters-in-law, my mother, my brother, and his daughter. To assume that there was favouritism in this draw of lots is madness…” - fair enough but how is the CJI’s family able to afford all the plots? - what if all the plots applied for had been alloted?
Its gets curiouser: “…six people with the same address from Flex Industries were alloted plots. Another 13 allotments had the same bank account….According to the list, the then Advocate General Virendra Bhatia also got four plots.”
Why is this news? Because it exposes - yet once again - how deep the rot goes.
I’m trying to get my hands on the full list.
The irony is of course that Shri Sibal’s party itself is hardly a model of virtue.
Have you managed the complete list of allotees.
Can you make it public?
Comment by Evan Thomas | July 30, 2007
Evan: Unfortunately, I still have not been able to get my hands on the full list although a determined web search should reveal it (I hope).
Will keep you all posted. Thanks.
Comment by B Shantanu | July 30, 2007