HC directs minister to be made party in a case

Mumbai, Oct 16 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed that Maharashtra Minister Baba Siddiqui be made party in a case that pertains to ''illegal demolition'' of certain residential flats.

The petition has been filed by Lalchand Soni and his son who have alleged that their flats in Om Satnam Cooperative Housing Society at Khar here were partly demolished by criminals, hired by one Gopal Sharma who is allegedly close to Mr Siddiqui.

A division bench comprising Justices J N Patel and R S Dalvi heard the petition today.

The petitioner claimed that on June 28, 2005, balconies of two flats belonging to him and his son were pulled down. The demolitions were, however, not carried out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation but by goons.

The petitioner also alleged that he had lost goods worth Rs two lakh during the demolition and had lodged a complaint with the police. However, the police had taken no action. However, he had later recovered the lost material later though the police had made no arrests.

Taking cognisance of the petitioner's claim, Justice Patel observed, ''If theft is alleged, how can police recover the stolen property without interrogation?'' The petitioner told the court that Sharma and his sons had obtained anticipatory bail in the case from the sessions court. The Law and Judiciary Department had, however, not granted permission to the public prosecutor to challenge the bail in the High Court. The petitioner further sought transfer of the case from Khar police to CID.

The division bench has directed the Law and Judiciary Department to place before it the entire file pertaining to the matter.

UNI ARM MAZ VD BST2141