SRA scam: HC directs Mah Govt to submit all files

Mumbai, May 3 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to submit all files of criminal complaints, alleging rampant corruption and irregularities in the implementation of Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) schemes in Mumbai, till tomorrow.

The direction was given by a division bench of Chief Justice Swantarter Kumar and Justice S C Dharmadhikari in the wake of a fire that broke out in SRA office, situated on the fifth floor of Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) building in suburban Bandra, in which many crucial files were engulfed.

Rights activist Shailesh Gandhi filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the court, alleging that various police authorities, particularly Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), has been refusing to investigate the criminal complaints regarding SRA schemes in Mumbai.

The court had earlier ordered the ACB and other police authorities to undertake investigation into every criminal complaint regarding SRA schemes as per provisions of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).

The Maharashtra government has now filed an application seeking modification to the order, allowing all complaints received by the ACB to be first scrutinised by the Gill Committee, appointed by the state.

UNI