The Maharashtra Governor on Thursday sanctioned the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute former chief minister and the state Congress president Ashok Chavan in the Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society case.
Chavan, who resigned from his post after the scam surfaced, was among the 12 who were charge sheeted by the investigation agency for allegedly grabbing prime land of the defence establishment and building a residential tower on it.
In 2013, during the previous Congress-NCP regime, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao’s predecessor, K Sankaranarayan had turned down the CBI’s request to prosecute Chavan. However, as the government changed in both the state as well as centre, the CBI sought permission for the prosecution again.
A release issued by Raj Bhavan read: “By letter dated 8th October 2015, the Joint Director CBI, Mumbai had sought sanction for prosecution of Shri Ashok Chavan under Section 197 Criminal Penal Code on the basis of the additional or fresh material, namely, the report of Justice Patil Commission of Enquiry and the observations of the Hon’ble High Court of Bombay in the Criminal Revision Application No.136 of 2014. The Governor had sought the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers and was advised by the Council of Ministers to grant the sanction.”