Supreme Court quashes FIR against Anurag Thakur, Prem Kumar Dhumal

Tribune news service
New Delhi, November 2

The Supreme Court on Friday quashed an FIR against BJP’s Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, his father, former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, and others in a case of alleged irregularities in granting land on lease for construction of a cricket stadium at Dharamsala.

“The FIR registered is quashed,” said a Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri, allowing his appeal against a Himachal High Court verdict refusing to quash the FIR.

Thakur, Dhumal and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) had challenged the High Court’s April 25, 2014, order refusing to quash the FIR and stay the criminal trial before special judge, Dharamsala. The case was registered against them for alleged cheating, criminal conspiracy and corruption. Thakur, then the HPCA president, had contended that the case was actually a civil dispute but the then Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government made it a criminal case for political reasons.

The FIR was registered by the Dharamsala office of the Vigilance Bureau on August 1, 2013, months after the Congress government assumed power in December 2012.

The top court had reserved its verdict last month after hearing senior advocate PS Patwalia for Thakur and HPCA; Himachal Advocate General Ashok Sharma for the State and others. On April 16, the state government had taken a decision to take back all politically motivated cases, including the HPCA cases in which Thakur and his father and former CM Dhumal are accused along with some bureaucrats over alleged irregularities in grant of land on lease for construction of the cricket stadium.

On July 18, the top court had observed that cases against the HPCA involving Thakur and Dhumal were political in nature, but said the court will go by merit in adjudicating the dispute. “When the state government wants to withdraw all these cases, then what is your problem?” it had asked Thakur and others. But the petitioners had said they wanted the FIR lodged against them to be quashed.

Thakur and others had contended that during the tenure of the Virbhadra government, based on a chargesheet prepared by the Congress, cases were lodged against Thakur, Dhumal and eight IAS officers, but the Centre had refused to accord sanction for prosecution of the bureaucrats. The SC had on April 17 warned warring factions in the HPCA, involving top politicians from the BJP and the Congress, from making the top court an arena for their political duel.

Virbhadra Singh, who is arrayed as party in the case, had opposed the state government’s decision and said legal procedure needs to be followed for withdrawal of cases.