[Reader-list] NEWS- WITHER JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY? THE CASE OF JUSTICE SABHARWAL

[pnn hindi]

Click Here To See The Documents, Concerning The Facts



WITHER JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY? THE CASE OF JUSTICE SABHARWAL:

DISQUIETING FACTS, DISTURBING IMPLICATIONS


Minakshi


PNN: 3, Aug.   The issue of accountability of the higher judiciary  
has long been troubling all sections of society so at a press  
conference held in Press Club of India the former Law minister Shanti  
Bhushan and sr. advocate Supreme court Prashant Bhushan among others  
highlighted a grave case of judicial misconduct at the Apex of Indian  
Judiciary on behalf of campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms.

Prashant Bhushan exposed that on 16'" February 2006, the then Chief  
Justice of India, Y.K. Sabharwal passed a detailed order setting into  
motion the process of sealing of properties in designated residential  
areas of Delhi, being used for commercial purposes, forcing to buy or  
rent premises in shopping malls and commercial complexes..

The Court's orders were ostensibly made to implement the rule of law  
as embodied by the Delhi Master Plan 2001, which had designated the  
land use of those areas as residential. Despite the new master 2021  
the court ordered the sealing to continue, despite the fact that the  
new master plan permitted the owners to use their premises for  
commercial purposes.

He further added the prices of shops and offices in the shopping  
malls and commercial complexes doubled and tripled almost overnight  
making many people question whether the sealing drive was being  
undertaken for the benefit of the Mall and Commercial complex  
developers. De facto these orders were being made by Justice  
Sabharwal, his two sons, Chetan and Nitin who until then had small  
export import businesses, had entered into partnerships with big Mall  
and Commercial complex developers Kabul Chawla of the BPTP group  
and , Purshottam Bagheria and had become big Commercial complex  
developers themselves.

Till 2004, the Sabharwals owned 3 companies ostensibly doing small  
time export import business, Pawan Impex, Sabs exports and Sug  
exports. their officially settled at the Sabharwals' family home at  
3/81 Punjabi Bagh. In January 2004 they were shifted to Justice  
Sabharwal's official residence at 6 Moti Lal Nehru Marg and on 7 May  
2004, Justice Sabharwal had ordered the sealing of properties where  
industries had been running in residential areas? but his official  
residence could hardly be sealed.

Just after the order of sealing his sons were well on their way to  
entering the business of Malls and commercial complexes in a big way,  
having sewn up partnerships with two of the biggest Commercial estate  
developers in Delhi business of the Sabharwals really took off  
thereafter. On 22/8/06, Pawan Impex was given a loan of 28 Crores by  
the Union Bank of lndia, Connaught Place on the security of imaginary  
plant, machinery and other assets" lying at plot Nos A 3, 4, &, 5 in  
Sector 125, Noida, nothing in actual, only a huge 1.T. park (5 lac Sq  
Ft, worth hundreds of crores. Interestingly, these 3 huge plots of  
12,000 Sq. Metres in a prime sector of Noida were allotted to Pawan  
Impex on 29 Dec 2004 by the Mulayam Singh/Amar Singh government of  
U.P. at a rate of only Rs. 3,700/sq Metre, another huge commercial  
plot of 12,000 sq metres (plot 12A, in Sector 68, which appears to  
have been carved out later as an afterthought) on 10 November 2006,  
at a price of 4000 Rs/sq metre, 3 plots (C1033, lO4 and 105) of 800  
Sq M each in Sector 63 at a rate of Rs. 2, I 00 each, other in Sector  
8 Noida, the CBI investigation into the allotments ordered by the  
Allahabad High Court was immediately stayed by Justice B.P. Singh of  
the Supreme Court moreover the publication of the infamous Amar Singh  
tapes, was stayed by Justice Sabharwal himself on the matter being  
merely mentioned before him.

Thus, the Sabharwals in just two years time, got into the business of  
developing Commercial complexes and appear to be rolling in money  
during the time when Justice Sabharwal was a senior judge and then  
Chief Justice, dealing with the sealing cases and passing orders.

Former law minister Shanti Bhushan also said that the conduct of  
Justice Sabharwal and his sons appear to involve offences and  
misdemeanors beyond the Income Tax Act. His orders are against the  
principles of natural justice, which say that no judge can hear a  
case in which he is personally interested. It is in fact arguable  
that his dealing with this case in such circumstances involves an  
offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

He and other senior Judges and advocates demanded the need to be  
thoroughly probed, particularly to see how and to what extent they  
funded the activities and acquistion of assets of the Sabharwals.  
whether their acquisition can be legitimately explained.

A call was made to the society to pressurize the Parliament and the  
government to bring a suitable Constitutional Amendment Bill for this  
purpose.




011  22756796, 9211530510
PNN , Delhi-91