The government has told the High Court that there were no irregularities in the transfer of land from Robert Vadra’s Skylight Hospitality to DLF. The Gurugram Police had registered a criminal case against real estate developers, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and others over five years ago in connection with suspected irregularities in the land deal. The government submitted an affidavit stating that no regulations or rules were violated in the sale of 3.5 acres to DLF on September 18, 2019. The land in question was found to still belong to HSVP/HSIIDC, Haryana, and a new special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted for further investigation.
The SIT was formed on March 22 and comprises a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), two assistant commissioners of police (ACPs), an inspector, and an ASI. The BJP had made alleged corruption and nepotism in the land deal a major poll issue in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The affidavit was submitted in connection with an ongoing “court on its own motion” public interest litigation for monitoring the progress of cases against sitting and former MPs and MLAs.
The Inspector General (Gurugram) Raj Shri Singh’s affidavit stated that eight cases registered against MPs and MLAs in Haryana were under investigation. On September 1, 2018, the Gurugram Police had registered a criminal case against Hooda, Vadra, and others under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and section 13 of Prevention of Corruption Act.
