Verdict likely to be appealed.
By Dileep Thekkethil
The Mumbai High court has sealed the fate of the 31-story posh Adarsh Society flats in Colaba, Mumbai, as it directed the authorities to demolish the building, which the court said is built upon graft.
The Adarsh building which was originally conceived as a six story structure for the benefit of Kargil war widows and personnel of India’s Ministry of Defence, later became the standing symbol of corruption.
The Mumbai High court has given the Adarsh Building Society 12 weeks’ time to challenge its order in the Supreme Court, after which the demolition procedures will duly commence.
The 31-story building in Colaba was was grabbed by politicians, defence personals, and bureaucrats, said the court.
The scam sent shock waves across the political spectrum, which culminated in the resignation of the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
Chavan, who was accused of getting flats inside Adarsh for three of his relatives, did not respond to today’s high court verdict. He brushed aside questions from media saying: “I don’t want to respond to the court judgment.”
YP Singh, petitioner and lawyer in the case said, “There are 2 type of cases in Adarsh. The first one was related to demolition of building, very happy that we have won case. Regarding the second part, we’re confident that corrupt government servants and politicians will be sent to jail under PMLA.”
The court today directed both the Centre and State government to register civil and criminal cases against ministers, politicians and bureaucrats who were involved in the scam. The Adarsh Society scam is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
The centre had back in 2011 ordered to demolish the building but the society approached the court challenging the centre’s order. Later in 2013, an independent judicial commission found that 25 of the 102 members of the Adarsh society were ineligible and there were 22 cases of flats being bought by agents.