HUDA plot allotment case: Trial proceedings start against Bhupinder Singh Hooda, co-accused

Chandigarh: A special CBI court in Panchkula has started trial proceedings against former Haryana chief minister (CM) Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other accused in the HUDA industrial plots allotment case, with the scrutiny of the chargesheet already underway.The CBI had, on April 28, presented a voluminous chargesheet in the court of special CBI judge Vijyant Sehgal, naming Hooda as prime accused and the rest as co-accused.The court has directed its staff to examine and verify the chargesheet and supporting documents, and submit a report by June 4, the next date of hearing. Summoning of the accused will begin only after scrutiny is complete.The CBI has submitted prosecution sanction against Hooda, approved by the Haryana government on April 15, along with the chargesheet against him and co-accused B B Taneja. However, sanction to prosecute other accused, including former HUDA chief administrator D P S Nagal and then chief controller of finance S C Kansal, is still awaited. The court has asked the agency to update it after obtaining the necessary approvals.In Dec 2015 the Haryana state vigilance bureau had registered a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Hooda, Nagal, Kansal and Taneja, a former deputy superintendent, in connection with allotment of 14 plots in the industrial area of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA).Later, the investigation was transferred to CBI. In May 2016, the agency registered a case, indicting 13 beneficiaries of the plots. The accused were booked under sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act.Taking note of the case, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had also started an investigation and filed a chargesheet against Hooda and others. The trial in the PMLA case came to a halt in May 2024 as the CBI had not filed the chargesheet.