Adarsh scam: Information Commissioner Tiwari's leave application rejected

Mumbai, Jan 5 (ANI): Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan on Wednesday refused to grant leave to Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari, whose son owns a flat in the controversial Adarsh Housing Society in Mumbai.

"Tiwari had sought leave from January 7 to March 31. The Governor has not granted leave to him," a Raj Bhavan spokesperson said.

Tiwari had submitted his leave application to the State Governor, amid a demand by the opposition for his ouster.

Earlier on Monday, former IAS officer Subhash Lalla resigned as a member of Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission following allegations of his involvement in the scam.

Lalla, who was secretary in the Chief Minister's Office when the Housing Society's file was being processed in the state secretariat, is the first bureaucrat to resign for his alleged involvement in the scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has claimed to have found evidence of alleged forgery and manipulation of documents on part of some army officials and bureaucrats in the scam.

CBI sources said that some of the documents seized by the investigating agency were indicative of some forgery having allegedly been committed by a few defence officials in criminal conspiracy with bureaucrats of Maharashtra government and private individuals.

A decision on registering the case under provisions of IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act would be taken once a clearance came from the legal department of the CBI.

Earlier on December 21, the Bombay High Court slammed the Maharashtra Government over the controversial Adarsh Housing Society scam saying it is 'a clear-cut case of manipulation' by its officers in which everybody who was supposed to clear the file was 'gifted' a flat.

The 31-storey Adarsh Society, originally meant for Kargil war heroes, landed in controversy after media reports said several politicians, bureaucrats and defence personnel owned flats there.

The CBI had on November 15 registered a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) to probe the alleged role of former and serving Army officers, with the permission of Defence Minister A K Antony. (ANI)