JODHPUR: In a blow to Union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the Rajasthan High Court took on record a revised submission by the state government on Friday stating that he was an accused in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society case.
The state, in its fresh submission, clarified that Shekhawat was named in the FIR registered by the special operations group (SOG) at the special police station in Jaipur, based on the investigation done so far by the agency.
During the previous hear-ing on April 13, the state government counsel, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, had termed Shekhawat’s petition — seeking protection from arrest and transferring the investigation to CBI — as misconceived, submitting that there was no question of arrest as the Union minister was not named as accused in any of the FIRs registered by SOG in the Sanjivani case.
Two days later, the state moved a fresh application in the court seeking correction in this submission.
Shekhawat will continue to have protection from arrest for nowIt stated that Singhvi’s argument that Shekhawat was not an accused was an “inadvertent lapse” as he had appeared through video-conferencing and could not get the assistance of the SOG investigating officer, who was physically present in the court.
While the HC accepted the revised submission, Shekhawat will continue to enjoy interim protection from arrest till the next date as the court did not vacate its earlier stay order. Justice Kuldeep Mathur, however, stated that the previous argument that Shekhawat was not an accused in any of the FIRs would not bar the respondents from raising any just and legal objection with regard to the maintainability of the petition filed by the minister. The development is a blow to Shekhawat after the SC’s recent rejection of a petition by some depositors.
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