UP CM prays for stay in disproportionate assets case inquiry

New Delhi, Mar 12 (UNI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today filed an application for modification of the Supreme Court order directing a preliminary CBI inquiry into his disproportionate assets and of his family members, with a prayer to stay the inquiry till May 31.

MR Mulayam Singh in his petition has alleged that since the assembly elections in UP have already been declared, the present CBI inquiry may be used by the UPA Government at the Centre to malign him and to damage his political image during the elections.

Expressing a total lack of faith in the CBI, the petitioner has prayed for a judicial inquiry into the allegations against him and his family members by a sitting High Court judge.

Earlier, the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice A R Lakshmanan had ordered a preliminary CBI inquiry into the huge assets of Mr Yadav acquired through ''corrupt means'' by misusing his official status as public servant, that is Chief Minister of the state.

The inquiry is to be conducted against SP supremo Mulayum Singh, his MP son Akhilesh Kumar Singh Yadav, younger son Prateek Yadav and daughter-in-law Dimple Yadav.

Interestingly, the apex court had directed the CBI to submit the report of its investigation to the Centre instead of the court and the Centre will decide the future course of action.

Under the CrPC, an investigative agency is to submit report to the competent court and it is the court which decides whether a prima facie case is made out for prosecution of the accused.

Mr Yadav in his review petition has cited a number of instances where the CBI investigation has been found biased and unfair, conducted at the instance of the party in power at the Centre.

The SP leader has given examples of former UP chief minister and his arch rival in the state Mayawati, who was given a clean chit in te Taj corridor scandal case by the CBI at the behest of the UPA government at the Centre.

He has also cited the case of Italian fugitive Ottavio Quattrocchi, the main suspect in the Rs 64 crore Bofors Gun scandal case.

According to the petitioner, the conduct of the CBI in the Rs 1400 crore Bofors Gun deal has been under cloud from the very beginning and the investigating agency has spared no efforts shielding Ottavio Quattrocchi, a family friend of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Extradition proceedings are on against Quattrocchi in Argentina.

The inquiry was ordered against Mulayam Singh on a PIL filed by a Congress activist Vishwanath Chaturvedi.

UNI