No illegality committed by trial court, says HC

IN 2020, WHILE FRAMING CHARGES AGAINST EX-CM HOODA & OTHERS, TRIAL COURT SUMMONED FIVE OFFICERS AS ACCUSED

- HT Correspondent

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has said that the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, Panchkula, did not commit an "illegality" while summoning five officers, including former IAS officer Rajeev Arora, as additional accused in the controversial Manesar land deal.

"Illegality or infirmity in the impugned order passed by the learned special court in summoning the petitioners. The challenge to the impugned order is, therefore, liable to be rejected. Consequently, all the petitions stand dismissed," the bench said.

In December 2020, while framing charges against former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and 32 others, the trial court had summoned Arora and four other officers as additional accused, who had not been indicted in the CBI chargesheet. The trial was stayed by high court on December 14, 2020. The May 15, detailed judgment of which has been released now, paves the way for the commencement of the trial.

The high court bench of justice Manjari Nehru Kaul rejected the argument of the petitioners that they had been cited as prosecution witnesses and no new material had emerged subsequent to the filing of the charge-sheet that would warrant their summoning as accused.