New Delhi/Shimla, Jan 24 (UNI) Former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh did not get any immediate relief from the Delhi High Court on Thursday, as the Judge hearing the plea of the couple decided to recuse himself from the case.
As the case came for hearing before the single Judge bench of Justice Mukta Gupta, the Judge decided to recuse from the case, passing order to list the matter before the other bench on January 25, on Friday.
The applicants and the former CM have challenged the order passed by the CBI Judge on December 10, 2018, directing framing of charges against them.
Charges were framed against former Parliamentarian Ms Singh, however, charges against her Octogenarian husband and other two are likely to be framed on January 29, on the next date of hearing.
Special CBI Judge Arun Bhardwaj said that prima facie, charges of alleged forgery and attempt to cheat under the IPC were also made out against the 82-year-old Congress leader and former Union minister.
Both accused were booked for possessing disproportionate asset under the Prevention of Corruption Act, alleging that if any crime was committed by them in Himachal Pradsesh, the state government was necessary should initiate an investigation.
On Wednesday, the couple, challenging the order passed by the Metropolitan Magistrate for framing of charge sheet, moved the Delhi High Court, seeking quashing of the order.
CBI lodged the FIR against them and seven others for allegedly amassing Rs 10 crore DA to their known sources of income, when Mr Singh was the Union Minister in the UPA government.
Earlier, the SC also transferred this matter from HP HC to Delhi HC on April 6, 2016, on the condition that CBI did not arrest Mr Singh, when he was the chief minister of HP.
The SC directed him to join the probe with the CBI.
Other seven booked by the CBI in the DA case include LIC agent Anand Chauhan, commission agent Chunni Lal Chauhan, Joginder Singh Ghalta, Prem Raj, Vakamulla Chandersekhar, Lawan Kumar Roache and Ram Prakash Bhatia.
The court said that Mr Singh and Anand Chauhan fraudulently and dishonestly singed a MOU by ante date to gave impression that it was singed on June 15, 2008.
The MoU was allegedly to cover up the unaccounted money as sale of proceeds of apples and Mr Singh and Mr Chuahn was liable to be charged for the offence of forgery by the CBI court.
CBI also came with a 500-page charge sheet filed in the Metropolitan Court, alleging that Mr Singh amassed Rs 10 crore DA, which is about 192 per cent of his known source of income, during his tenure as Union Minister.
UNI ML RJ 1856