CJ transfers ex-PWD secy’s case to Mumbai

Nagpur: In a setback to ex-PWD secretary Devdutta Marathe, chief justice Mohit Shah on Wednesday allowed the state government’s application to transfer his case to the principal bench in Mumbai for clubbing with existing PIL filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The CJ heard the matter in his chamber, which was attended by Marathe’s lawyers – Gaurav Belsare and Ameya Deshpande – along with SK Shinde, who represented then government.He then fixed the next date of hearing on July 22. Earlier, petitioner's lawyers took objection to the government move to shift case, contending that it would be difficult for the senior citizen to attend hearings in Mumbai on regular basis.
Marathe moved the judiciary after ACB lodged an FIR against him and 16 others, including former PWD minister Chhagan Bhujbal at Worli police station for causing massive losses to the government by allegedly conniving with the builder in Maharashtra Sadan scam in Delhi. The complaint was lodged under Section 406, 420, 409, 465, 468, 471, 120(B) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) for charges of cheating, forgery and criminal breach of trust.
Others mentioned in the complaint are Bhujbal’s son Pankaj, nephew Sameer, ex-superintending engineer Arun Deodhar, ex-chief engineer MH Shah, ex-PWD secretary Deepak Deshpande, chief architect Bipin Sankhe and then PWD executive engineer Anil Gaikwad.
During last hearing on Monday, senior counsel RB Pendharkar and Pankaj Navlani appearing for Marathe strongly opposed the government’s move, terming it as “bench-hunting tactics”. They said that instead of filing a reply to notice, the government wanted to buy time with such tactics.