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Is sanction needed to try Chavan in Adarsh case? HC

The Bombay high court on Wednesday sought to know from CBI if sanction was required to prosecute former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan on corruption charges in the Adarsh scam case.

Justice Sadhana Jadhav raised the query while hearing a revision petition filed by CBI seeking permission to delete Chavan’s name from the FIR in the case following refusal of grant of sanction to prosecute from Maharashtra Governor Kateekal Sankaranaryanan.

The agency had approached the high court last month after the trial court refused to delete Chavan’s name from the FIR filed by CBI in January 2011.

Chavan and 12 others were booked under section 120 (b) of the IPC for criminal conspiracy and under various charges of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act.

‘Do you (CBI) need sanction to prosecute under the general law of IPC ?’ Justice Jadhav asked.

CBI lawyer Hiten Venegaonkar told the court that sanction to prosecute under IPC was required as Chavan was a sitting MLA and former chief minister and revenue minister at the time when the alleged offence was committed.

‘Without sanction to prosecute him (Chavan) under section 120 (b) of IPC, the agency cannot proceed to prosecute him under section 13 (1) (d) of the PC Act independently,’ Venegaonkar said.

The court then issued notice to Ashok Chavan and Maharashtra government and posted the petition for hearing on 10 June.

CBI had filed a chargesheet in the case against 13 people, including 55-year-old Chavan, who is contesting upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Nanded, pending sanction from the Governor. The trial court is yet to take cognisance of it.

The former chief minister had earlier filed a petition in the high court seeking the case to be quashed against him as CBI had no jurisdiction to probe the case as neither the state government nor the high court had passed an order handing over probe to the central agency.

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