Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, indicted by the Inquiry Commission for his quid pro quo acts in the Adarsh scam, has written to the Maharashtra Government, claiming that the two-member probe panel has done “injustice” to him and that its findings in matters relating to him are against the principles of natural justice.
“The (inquiry commission) report is bad and great injustice has been done to me. Before indicting me, the Commission did not hear my contention. This, despite it being specifically brought to its notice that if it was passing strictures against me, then as per section 8 of the Commissions Of Inquiry Act, I should have been heard,” Ashok Chavan stated, in identical letters written to Maharashtra’s current Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Chief Secretary J S Saharia.
“As per the Act, if the reputation of a person is likely to be prejudicially affected by an inquiry, the commission shall give him a reasonable opportunity of being heard and produce evidence in his defence,” he stated, adding that he was not heard before the Commission preferred to pass strictures against him.
Chavan is one of the seven public servants indicted by the two-member Commission of Inquiry – comprising retired judge of Bombay High Court J A Patil and retired chief secretary of Maharashtra P Subramanyam –for giving permissions and clearances to the controversial Adarsh co-operative Housing society as quid pro quo.
In its 676 page report, the Commission has observed that while Ashok Chavan cannot be said to have favoured or obliged the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society by allowing civilians to become members, his approval of non-deduction of 15 per cent recreational ground while calculating FSI cannot be treated as an innocent act.
“We are not concerned with the legality or otherwise of the said decision. It may be legal and justifiable...However, this decision when followed by the grant of membership and allotment of flats to his close relatives becomes indicative of quid pro quo,” the Commission stated in its report.
Meanwhile, a senior bureaucrat said that the state government would take note of the representations made by Chavan and senior officials indicted in the inquiry commission’s report.