Congress leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of having used the Adarsh housing scam politically to malign his party before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Earlier in the day, the Bombay High Court set aside the governor’s sanction to prosecute Chavan in the alleged scam.
“The truth has ultimately prevailed,” Chavan told the media after the High Court’s verdict, ANI reported.
In February 2016, Maharashtra Governor Vidyasagar Rao had authorised the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute Chavan in the case. The investigating agency had sought his sanction after getting fresh evidence against him in the case. Chavan had then said the sanction was part of a “political vendetta” against him, and claimed that the CBI’s move was illegal.
The Adarsh housing scam
The 31-storey residential tower in upscale Colaba in Mumbai was meant for Army veterans and war widows, but the plush apartments were given to several top politicians, bureaucrats and their families. A judicial committee set up to investigate the scam found that at least 25 of the houses went to ineligible people and 22 were sold under proxy names.
After the scandal broke in 2010, Chavan was forced to resign as it came to light that three of his relatives were allotted homes in the building.
In April 2016, the Bombay High Court had ordered the demolition of the complex. However, it was stayed by the Supreme Court later.
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