Shimla: A Himachal Pradesh High Court judge
today recused himself from hearing Union Steel minister
Virbhadra Singh's petition seeking transfer of the CD case
against him from state vigilance department to the CBI.
The petition by the former Himachal Pradesh chief
minister would now come up for hearing tomorrow before another
bench of the High Court.
Chief Justice Joseph Kurian announced in the court that
Justice Rajeev Sharma, a member of the division bench which
was to hear the petition, refused to hear the case and it
would be placed before a new division bench.
Singh had moved the high court on Tuesday seeking
transfer of the alleged corruption case being investigated by
the state vigilance department to the CBI.
He also said in his petition that the CD case against
Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal and Director General of
Police (DGP) D S Manhas be investigated.
In the petition, Singh maintained that after Dhumal
became chief minister in December 2007, the government
registered a case against him and his wife on August 3, 2008,
under the prevention of corruption Act on the basis of an
audio CD released by his political adversary Vijay Singh Mankotia in
2007.
Police say that in the CD, Virbhadra Singh was heard
allegedly referring to some monetary transactions during his
phone conversation with Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
officer Mahinder Lal, who is now dead.
It also allegedly contained the voices of his wife and
some industrialists.
The HC had turned down Singh's plea to transfer the case
to the CBI on September 3 last but stayed the operation and
implementation of judgement for fifteen days.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, September 16, 2010, 23:24