State Govt Urges HC To Allow Fresh Probe Into 2005 Ekal Patta Case

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Rajasthan government on Wednesday moved the Rajasthan high court seeking a fresh probe in the high-profile 2005 Ekal Patta (single-land lease corruption) case that involves former urban development minister Shanti Dhariwal, said officials.

- HT Correspondent

JAIPUR:

"Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma led-Rajasthan government has taken two significant steps in the Ekal Patta corruption case. On Wednesday, it has filed a fresh petition before the Rajasthan high court seeking a fresh investigation in the case. It has also withdrawn its revision petition, thereby accepting the trial court's order rejecting the earlier move to withdraw prosecution," the additional advocate general of the government Shiv Mangal Sharma told reporters on Wednesday.

The Ekal Patta case centres on allegations of corruption in granting a single lease for valuable land in Jaipur to Ganpati Constructions. Dhariwal and along with at least six officers of the UDH department and Jaipur Development Authority (JDA), were named in the case by the ACB based on a complaint in 2005 when JDA first approved the lease for a cooperative society managing the land.

Later, the ACB also found that the lease was issued to Ganpati Constructions without disclosing a previous rejection, prompting complaints and investigations, said an official familiar with the matter.