Dharamshala: A trial court here on Saturday issued summons to former Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, his two sons including Anurag Thakur, MP, and 16 others to appear in person before it on October 27 in a case pertaining to allotment of land on lease to Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA).
Special Judge (Vigilance) K K Sharma issued summons to the 16 accused but did not issue the same to two serving IAS officers, Deepak Sanan and Ajay Sharma, as the prosecution agency is yet to get sanction to proceed against them.
Eighteen people were charged on April 25 for alleged wrongdoing in allotment of land to HPCA, headed by Anurag Thakur, for constructing a plush residential complex for players near its stadium in Dharamsala.
Sanan and Sharma were posted in the Revenue department and youth services and sports department respectively when the land was allotted to the HPCA.
The state government had on April 2 given sanction to initiate proceedings against Dhumal, during whose tenure as CM (2008-12) the land was allotted to the HPCA.
Thakur is also the joint secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India.
The state Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau had registered ?a case in August, 2013 against the HPCA functionaries under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1988.
In another development relating to the HPCA academy in Shimla, the Himachal High Court today directed Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) to maintain status quo and file its reply before the next date of hearing on September?16.'
A division bench consisting of Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed these orders on a petition filed by HPCA vice presient Surinder Singh Thakur.
He had moved the High Court against the notice issued to HPCA on September 2, directing it to?demolish the illegal structure? within five days, failing which the SMC would pull down the structure at its cost.
The SMC maintained that the building was constructed in a green area where no construction is allowed and the SMC had not approved any building plans.
The Corporation issued a show-cause notice to the HPCA on October 8 last year as to why the temporary structure should be not demolished.
The Municipal Commissioner had passed the orders to demolish the structure on January 8, 2014.
The appeal of the HPCA against the order was dismissed on August 1 by a trial court in Shimla.
The HPCA has stated that the temporary structure was built after obtaining necessary sanction and permission from the state and central governments.
