Vadra's plea quashed in Bikaner land scam

The verdict has come as a big setback to Congress leader Robert Vadra, a co-accused in the case, as the court has also pronounced that the ED would continue with its interrogation of the accused in the case.

Jodhpur, Dec 23: In a major setback to the Congress' 'first family', the Main Bench of Rajasthan High Court here has dismissed the petition of Mahesh Nagar and others in the case of forgery of government land in Kolayat village in Bikaner district. Robert Vadra, husband of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, and his mother Maureen Vadra are co-accused in the land scam.

This scam came into the light in 2015 and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a money-laundering case in September that year, alleging that Skylight Hospitality had acquired the land in Kolayat which was meant for the rehabilitation of the poor villagers. The plea of the accused in the case has now been quashed by the court.

In its verdict, the Bench ruled that the ED will continue its interrogation of the accused in the case. It has, however, stayed Vadra's arrest for 2 weeks, bringing some respite to the beleaguered family.

What is the scam

The probe is related to the purchase of 275 bighas of land allegedly by the company in the Kolayat area of the border district of Bikaner. It was alleged that Vadra made a 615% profit by selling the land for several crores after purchasing it for just Rs 72 lakh. The ED registered a criminal case of money laundering in 2016 on the basis of FIRs filed by the Rajasthan police after the local Tehsildar lodged a complaint in Bikaner.

Later, on January 21, 2019, the court asked Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and a partner in Skylight Hospitality, and his mother Maureen to appear before the ED for questioning. Both were given interim bail by the court.

"Today, the hearing was concluded before the single-judge bench of Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati in a money laundering case related to a land scam in the Kolayat area. After hearing the matter for three days, the hearing concluded today and the judgment will be pronounced on Thursday," additional solicitor general Rajdeepak Rastogi told a news channel on Wednesday.

Hearing in High Court

A single-judge Bench of the High Court presided over by Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati heard the petition filed by the accused in the case. The Bench pronounced the verdict on Thursday after three days of hearing. Sources said that a prayer was made by Vadra's counsel to quash the ECIR (enforcement case information report) which is not an FIR (first information report).

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