Rajasthan HC quashes graft plea against Vasundhara Raje

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan high court on Wednesday has dismissed a petition seeking action against the chief minister Vasundhara Raje under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court said no charge could be made out against the respondents under the sections mentioned in the petition.
The single bench of Justice Prashant Kumar Agarwal had reserved the order on issue of notice on September 9 on the petition by Ram Singh Kaswa and Sajna Shresht alleging that chief minister Vasundhara Raje, her ex-husband Hemant Singh, MP son Dushyant Singh, CBI, officials of Union urban development and housing, deputy registrar (stamp ) Bharatpur and the then Bharatpur collector on misuse of power under the Prevention of Corruption Act and stamp duty evasion in the transfer of properties by forging documents.
Noted Supreme Court lawyer Indra Jaising had appeared for the petitioners. The petitioners had alleged that Raje during her first tenure as chief minister by misusing her position had transferred the state and Central government properties of Dholpur palace, a property in Panchsheel Marg in Delhi and some other properties in the name of her son Dushayant Singh as per a compromise reached with her ex-husband Hemant Singh.
Following the compromise, they got a decree issued in their favour by the ADJ Court in Bharatpur in April 9 2007. The petitioner said the ADJ Bharatpur issued the decree in favour of Raje and Dushyant without making the Central and state government a party in the case.
The petition had further alleged of stamp duty evasion in the transfer of property. The petitioner had claimed that the total value of the properties transferred is to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore and the stamp duty should have been Rs 105 crore as per rule. But the property was transferred by paying a stamp duty of Rs 10,000 which is huge evasion of stamp duty.
The petitioner had filed a complaint to the CBI in August 2013 and petition in CBI court in Jaipur. But they were dismissed. So they approached the high court.