The Supreme Court on Friday quashed a First Information Report filed against Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian Anurag Thakur, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, and others in a case related to alleged irregularities in granting land for the construction of the Dharamshala cricket stadium. Dhumal is Thakur’s father.
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association, which Thakur used to head, was accused of illegally converting a registered society into a company. The government led by Dhumal then allegedly allotted land to construct a cricket stadium, a luxury resort called the Pavillion, and demolished a few government residential quarters at Dharamsala belonging to the sports department to give more land to the cricket body.
In October 2013, the Congress, which was then in power, cancelled the lease for the stadium and decided to take over the property. The cricket association, however, challenged the decision in the High Court, which set aside the government’s notification. The following year, the High Court refused to quash the case – registered for cheating and criminal conspiracy – and stay the trial pending in a special court in Dharamshala.
Earlier this year, the Himachal Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Jairam Thakur decided to withdraw all “politically motivated cases” that the previous Congress government had filed, including five cases against the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association.
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