Rohtak land scam: Trouble mounts for ex-Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda as SC orders CBI probe

In a setback for Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the CBI to investigate the Rohtak land scam in Haryana. A three-judge bench of Justices UU Lalit, Ajay Rastogi and Aniruddha Bose's order came on amicus curiae Jaideep Gupta's report which suggested a CBI probe into the alleged illegalities and the role of officials in releasing over 400 acres of land to real estate developer Uddar Gagan Properties in 2006 when Hooda was the Chief Minister. It expressed dissatisfaction over the investigation conducted by the state government.

The SC observed, “This court delivered a judgment in 2016, and five years down the line, we are still groping in the dark. We wanted the fraud to be unearthed, and we wanted those involved should be proceeded against. But the whole thing looks like a subterfuge now." 

The Rohtak land scam

This case dates to 2002 when the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) proposed to acquire around 850 acres of land in Rohtak for residential and commercial sectors. However, it acquired only 441 acres in April 2003 out of which about 280 acres of land was released in 2006 to Uddar Gagan Properties Limited which entered into a collaboration agreement with some farmers to develop a colony. In 2013, the Punjab and Haryana High Court set aside this decision and held that state government officers had overlooked the interest of the general public in their anxiety to help builders.

According to the court, thousands of plots could have been allocated at a fairly low price through the aegis of HUDA. Meanwhile, the apex court also ruled that this land deal was illegal citing an "abuse of power" in releasing the land in favour of the builder. Moreover, it directed the state government to inquire who in the authority illegally entertained the builder. However, no action was taken against the guilty officers as of date despite the Manohar Lal Khattar-led government initiating multiple inquiries into the case.

Interestingly, Additional Advocate General Anil Grover opposed the CBI probe during the SC hearing asserting that the facts of this case were entirely different from the facts of the Manesar land acquisition case. Additionally, he backed the findings of the probe reports by IAS officer Anurag Rastogi and retired High Court judge RS Madan. Disapproving of this, the SC lamented that Rastogi just flagged a “systemic failure” and did not fix the responsibility on anyone.