SC: Realtors forged records for govt land transfer in city

Bhubaneswar: Supreme Court has ordered a re-evaluation of the Orissa high court's order quashing criminal proceedings against realtors who allegedly lowered benchmark value of 54 acres of govt land in Gadakana mouza here, causing loss to the state exchequer.Hearing the appeal filed by state govt, SC in its recent order observed that the realtors used their connections to manipulate land records. They lowered the value of the land to just Rs 9,000 per acre, whereas the market rate was Rs 50 lakh at the time of registration.As per case records, special secretary in the general administration department lodged a complaint in 2015 with the Capital police station alleging a widespread conspiracy involving the forgery of documents to facilitate the illegal transfer of govt land to private entities.Following the complaint, the police started investigations that culminated in a chargesheet filed against 10 people, including a few govt officials. The chargesheet said the accused, along with other co-conspirators, allegedly utilised forged documents to manipulate judicial processes and revenue records.The matter was heard in the sub-divisional judicial magistrate's court in Bhubaneswar, which passed an order in favour of the state govt. However, after an appeal in HC, the case was quashed due to lack of sufficient evidence.SC, in its order, observed the HC judgment needed reconsideration. "This court finds that the high court's decision to quash the proceedings was based on an incomplete assessment of the facts, which could only be fully unravelled through a detailed trial process.""The nature and extent of the alleged conspiracy, the involvement of the respondents, and the actual harm caused to the public exchequer need to be judiciously examined in a trial setting," the apex court further observed. Real estate expert Bimalendu Pradhan lauded the apex court order. "This land scam is part of a larger conspiracy of a prominent city-based builder. They used their power and manipulated the system. SC rightly observed the facts and passed the order," he said.