Dhingra Commission seeks more time to give report on Robert Vadra's land deals

Chandigarh: Justice SN Dhingra Commission, which was set up to probe into grant of land licences to some companies including that of Robert Vadra's in Gurgaon during the Congress rule in Haryana, on Thursday sought six weeks more time to submit its report hours before the deadline was to end.

Official sources said the Commission has sought six weeks more to submit its report.

Justice Dhingra said he sought more time in order to go through some documents from a person stating "that they are documents of benami transactions of who benefitted from the grant of licence."

Haryana government had earlier twice extended the term of the Dhingra Commission of Inquiry.

The BJP government in the state had in December last year extended the Commission's term for a period of six months and on June 17 this year its term had been extended till today.

Earlier, media reports had said the Commission was ready with its report which would have gone into mutation of a land deal between a firm M/S Skylight Hospitality owned by Robert Vadra and realty major DLF. The Rs 58-crore deal related to 3.5 acre land in Gurgaon's Shikohpur village which was sold by Vadra to DLF.

In October, 2012, senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka had cancelled the mutation of the land deal between Skylight Hospitality and DLF. It was mired by controversy over allegations of undervaluation.

The request for extension came in the midst of a row after Congress alleged that Justice SN Dhingra, a retired judge of the Delhi High Court, "has sought favours from government of Haryana, making him incompetent and unsuitable to deliver any verdict or report in the matter."

Former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had also yesterday sought scrapping the Dhingra Commission of Inquiry, pointing out that it was "contrary to established rules and norms, without due cabinet approval and prompted by malice and political considerations".

The present Manohar Lal Khattar government in Haryana had on May 14, 2015 set up the Dhingra Commission to probe issues concerning the grant of license(s) for developing commercial colonies by the Department of Town and Country Planning to some entities in Sector 83, Gurgaon.

The Commission was to probe transfer or disposal of land, allegations of private enrichment, ineligibility of beneficiaries under the rules, and other connected matters, bringing Vadra land deal under the scanner.

BJP had made the land deals under the previous Congress government in Haryana a major poll issue during the 2014 Lok Sabha and the state Assembly polls, alleging rules were relaxed to favour a few including Vadra, son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The Commission had summoned former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda but he was represented by his counsel on the two dates.

The Commission also summoned 26 government officers as witnesses and examined at least 250 files pertaining to approval, grant or rejection of colony licences to various builders, and change of land use and development plans.