HC allows BJP govt to withdraw Cong-era plea in 'Ekal Patta' case

Jaipur: A Rajasthan High Court division bench headed by chief justice MM Shrivastava Monday permitted the current BJP govt to withdraw a criminal revision petition filed by the previous Congress govt in the controversial ‘Ekal Patta' land lease case. The court also permitted activist Ashok Pathak as an intervenor in the case.

The case, which dates back to 2014, involves allegations of corrupt practices in issuing a single land lease to M/S Ganpati Constructions. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had filed a chargesheet in 2015 against two—builder Shailendra Garg and Nishkam Diwakar, who then served as deputy secretary-II in the urban development and housing (UDH) department.

The previous Congress govt, under Ashok Gehlot's leadership, had filed the revision petition challenging a trial court's Nov 2021 order. The trial court had rejected an application seeking withdrawal of prosecution in the corruption case. While the high court initially allowed the withdrawal of prosecution in Jan 2023, the situation changed with the BJP forming the govt in Dec 2023.

Additional Advocate General Shiv Mangal Sharma said, " The previous govt maintained that a high-level committee constituted of UDH stated there was no evidence of wrongful loss to the govt or gain to private parties, and hence, the prosecution was unwarranted. It was pleaded that continuation of proceedings would be an abuse of judicial process and contrary to larger public interest. However, we (current govt) filed an application to withdraw the revision petition filed by the previous govt, which has been allowed by the high court."

The case has seen multiple legal turns, including the ACB's 2019 closure report clearing former UDH minister Shanti Dhariwal, which was rejected by the trial court. Though the high court later quashed criminal proceedings against Dhariwal in 2022, activist Pathak challenged these orders in the Supreme Court. In Nov 2024, the apex court remanded the matter back to the high court for merit-based consideration.