By IANS,
New Delhi: In a big boost to former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, the Supreme Court Friday quashed a first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against her in a disproportionate assets case in 2003.
“The impugned FIR (first information report) is without jurisdiction and any investigation pursuant thereto is illegal and liable to be quashed, accordingly quashed,” said the apex court bench of Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Dipak Misra.
The court upheld Mayawati’s contention that the FIR against her filed by the CBI was mala fide and the misreading of the apex court’s orders in the Taj heritage corridor case.
“We finally conclude that anything beyond the Taj corridor matter was not the subject-matter of reference before the Taj corridor bench,” the apex court said.
Mayawati contended that the Sep 18, 2003, order of the apex court had specifically observed about lodging of FIR only with regard to Taj heritage corridor project case. That order nowhere mentioned about lodging of second FIR in regard to the disproportionate assets of the petitioner.
Mayawati wanted to develop the Taj corridor, an 80-acre wasteland sandwiched between the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, as a commercial hub and amusement park.
But as the Archaeological Survey of India did not clear the project, the Supreme Court ordered its suspension in 2003.
The apex court said: “…after reading all the orders of this court which are available in the ‘compilation’, we are satisfied that this court being the ultimate custodian of the fundamental rights did not issue any direction to the CBI to conduct a roving inquiry against the assets of the petitioner (Mayawati) commencing from 1995 to 2003…”.
Taking note of the investigating agency’s submission that it had relied on its order in respect of the Taj corridor case in lodging the FIR in disproportionate assets case, the court said corridor project was conceived only in July 2002 and an amount of Rs.17 crore was released in August/September 2002″.
Justice Sathasivam said: “The method adopted by the CBI is unwarranted and without jurisdiction.”
“We are also satisfied that the CBI has proceeded without proper understanding of various orders dated July 16, 2003, Aug 21, 2003, Sep 18, 2003, Oct 25, 2003, and Aug 7, 2003, passed by this court. We are also satisfied that there was no such direction relating to the second FIR, namely, FIR No. R.C. 0062003019 dated Oct 5, 2003,” said Justice Sathasivam.
“Since the order dated Sep 18, 2003, does not contain any specific direction regarding lodging of FIR in the matter of disproportionate assets case against the petitioner, the CBI is not justified” in filing the FIR Oct 5, 2003.
“From the perusal of those orders, we are also satisfied that there could not have been any material before this court about the disproportionate assets case of the petitioner beyond the Taj corridor project case and there was no such question or issue about disproportionate assets of the petitioner. In view of the same, giving any direction to lodge FIR relating to disproportionate assets case did not arise,” the court said.
The court said that it was satisfied that the “CBI exceeded its jurisdiction in lodging” the FIR in the “absence of any direction from this court in its Sep 18, 2003 order or any subsequent orders”.