NEW DELHI, 23 October 2003 — The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court yesterday stayed the arrest of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati in the Taj heritage corridor case till the completion of investigation.
A division bench comprising Justice Khemkaran and Justice G.K. Gupta also stayed the arrest of Mayawati`s then Principal Secretary P.L. Punia and former Secretary (environment) V.K.Gupta in the same case. The court had yesterday reserved its orders on the petition of Mayawati and two separate petitions filed by Punia andGupta in this regard.
However, the court dismissed the trio’s petitions seeking to quash the First Information Reports (FIRs) filed against them in the Taj corridor case.
The bench, however, directed the petitioners not to leave the country without obtaining permission from the competent court.
The Central Bureau Of Investigation had filed FIRs against Mayawati and others for their alleged involvement in the scam. The Rs 175 million Taj corridor project had allowed construction of shopping malls, entertainment complexes and amusementparks near the Taj Mahal.
Earlier this month, the investigating agency had conducted a series of raids at several premises owned by Mayawati in Lucknow, Delhi and Meerut.
The CBI began probing the Taj case on the orders of the Supreme Court and has two months to submit its report to the court.
Meanwhile, Mayawati yesterday lashed out at the media accusing it of “misinterpreting”her efforts to seek legal justice in the Taj corridor case saying it was a “deliberate mischief” on its part to malign her Bahujan Samaj Party.
She also accused the CBI of working under “BJP pressure” to harm her politically.
She denied media reports that she had amassed huge wealth “disproportionate to her income.” and said reporters should notfall prey to CBI plots but check with her before writing about her.
She side-stepped questions on her two accounts in two different banks in Delhi saying her entire financial statement was available to the Income Tax Department.
