Mumbai: CBI on Thursday moved the Bombay High
Court against the special CBI court`s refusal to grant it a
custody of Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, former Congress Member of
Legislative Council and a prime accused in the Adarsh Housing
Society scam.
The lower court, on March 27, remanded Gidwani (arrested
on March 21) to judicial custody after accepting the argument
of his lawyer that he had already been in CBI`s custody for
ten days in a bribery case related to the Adarsh scam.
Gidwani, his son and two lawyers including a CBI counsel
were arrested in the bribery case, and were in custody for ten
days before being released on bail. Soon afterwards, CBI
arrested Gidwani again in the main Adarsh case.
CBI has said in the application before the High Court
that investigation agency is entitled to seek an accused`s
custody for up to 15 days.
"Gidwani was earlier in CBI custody in another case.
Later he was in custody for four days in the Adarsh scam. Both
are different offences," CBI lawyer Revati Dhere argued
before the High Court today.
Justice RC Chavan adjourned the hearing till tomorrow.
According to CBI, Gidwani, as the chief promoter of
Adarsh Society in south Mumbai, was instrumental in getting
clearances from different state departments. The society
allegedly stands on Defence Ministry`s land and breaches
environmental laws.
While Gidwani has three flats in his own name in the
31-storey building, he also allegedly paid for four `benami`
flats from his bank account. "Of these four flats, two were
reserved in proxy to oblige influential state government
officials who dealt with the concerned file during the
relevant period," CBI had told the lower court.
PTI
