Bombay High Court wants CBI probe on Adarsh scam within two weeks

Mumbai, Jan 18 (ANI): The Bombay High Court has asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to complete its probe into Mumbai's Adarsh housing society scam in two weeks.

The CBI has also been asked to take a decision on filing FIRs in the case.

Earlier, accusing the controversial Adarsh Society of violating the spirit of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) laws, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said the society "should be demolished in entirety".

"Adarsh Society should be demolished because it lacked green clearance, Ramesh said in a report submitted on Sunday.

The Ministry of Environment had earlier served a notice to the society asking it why the illegal floors in the building should not be demolished.

The Adarsh scam claimed its first victim last year in the form of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who was forced to resign after reports surfaced that his kin owned flats in the society.

After Chavan, top bureaucrats too faced the axe, most notable among them being Maharashtra's Chief Information Commissioner Ramanand Tiwari and Human Rights Commissioner Subhash K Lalla.

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

The Central Bureau of Investigation (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)