Mulayam disproportionate assets case: SC reserves order

New Delhi, Feb 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court today reservedits judgement on Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav''splea seeking review of its earlier order for a CBI inquiryagainst him and family members for allegedly amassingdisproportionate assets.

A bench of justices Altamas Kabir and H L Dattu reservedthe verdict after hearing the Attorney General G E Vahanvati,counsel for the Yadavs, and the petitioner VishwanathChaturvedi.

The SC had ordered a CBI inquiry on March 1, 2007, intothe alleged accumulation of disproportionate assets by Yadav,his sons Akhilesh and Prateek and daughter-in-law Dimple, on apublic interest litigation (PIL) by an advocate VishwanathChaturvedi, reportedly a Congress leader.

Unlike the precedent of hearing review petitions in thejudges'' chambers, the petition is being heard in the opencourt at the request of Yadav.

Seeking to review its order, Yadav and his familymembers submitted that there was no evidence against them whoare being harassed by political adversaries.

Senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Yadavs,assailed the apex court''s earlier order claiming it would "seta dangerous precedent" of allowing political opponents to file"false and frivolous" petitions against their detractors.

During the arguments, Vahanvati, while refraining fromgoing into the merits of the allegations against the Yadavs,cited a number of judicial pronouncements to drive home thepoint that the apex court has powers to order a CBI inquiry in"exceptional cases." PTI AAC RB