Other States - New Delhi   

Bail plea of sacked DDA Vice-Chairman rejected

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI MAY 31. The Delhi High Court today rejected a bail application by the sacked Delhi Development Authority Vice-Chairman, Subhash Sharma, in one of the cases connected with the DDA land scandal case.

Dismissing the application, the Special Judge, Prem Kumar, said: The applicant/accused if released on bail at this stage of investigation may cover his tracks and throttle/hamper the investigation or blunt the effectiveness of the investigating process.

Recording his observations about corruption, Mr. Prem Kumar said: "Courts cannot show motherly leniency towards people accused of high corruption.

Offences of corruption have to be taken more seriously than a heinous crime by an individual against an individual.''

In the instant case, the investigating agency has accused Sharma of having entered into a conspiracy with Dharambir Khattar, one of the accused in the case who was allegedly in the job of fixing matters in DDA, to replace counsel appearing for the Authority in the Delhi High Court to favour Vinod Khatri, another accused in the scandal, in the matter of widening of a road which was affecting Sahara Restaurant owned by Khatri in the Mehrauli area.

In his order, the Judge extensively quoted transcripts of conversations between Khattar and Sharma about removal of counsel appearing in the above-mentioned matter pending in the High Court so that Khatri could get a ''favourable judgment'' in it.

``The tape-recorded conversations between accused Dharmabir Khattar and Vinod Khatri, between Khattar and Shameet Mukherjee and between Khattar and Sharma clearly indicate that Geeta Mittal, whom Sharma allegedly removed from the case, was presenting the DDA case forcefully in the court of Mukherjee, and Mukherjee in order to help Khatri asked Khattar to get Mittal replaced through Sharma so that it would be convenient for the accused judge to pass favourable orders,'' Mr.Prem Kumar said quoting an except from the transcripts.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• Postal Dept. starts survey of properties in Capital
• Bail plea of sacked DDA Vice-Chairman rejected
• Pulse polio drive today
• Businessman shot dead
• New jail to be inaugurated
• Music industry for short edits of songs on radio
• Travel agency directed to pay compensation
• MTNL to add another four lakh GSM phones

Copyright © 2003, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu