Bombay High Court indicts Vilasrao Deshmukh in land deal

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has ordered filmmaker Subhash Ghai to return to Maharashtra government 20-acres allotted for his film institute. The court indicted Union science and technology minister Vilasrao Deshmukh for “misusing his official position” as chief minister by showing “undue favours” to Ghai.

However, the court said there was no need for a CBI probe into the land deal since there was no material to indicate that its sale at reduced prices was a quid pro quo to get the then chief minister's actor son (Riteish Deshmukh) established in the film industry.

“Hence, there is no need to send the case to CBI for investigation”. A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Girish Godbole held that the May 30, 2004, joint venture agreement signed between Ghai's Mukta Arts and Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation for Ghai's Whistling Woods in Filmcity, Goregaon, was “illegal, arbitrary and without authority of law.”

Deshmukh, the then chief minister, was present when the agreement was signed and had also made an endorsement in the agreement as witness. “Vilasrao Deshmukh has clearly misused his official position as chief minister and it is not acceptable that a CM will personally sign such an agreement, which is illegal. It is clear that Vilasrao has extended undue favours to Ghai's Whistling Woods,” the bench said.

“Here is a case where all norms of transparency and reasonableness have been given a complete go by. The present case is a classic example of arbitrary, unreasonable and illegal decision of permitting use of available land owned by the government without any authority of law,” it said.

Reacting to the judgement, Ghai said:“We will move the Supreme Court for our lawful rights. We hope we will get justice from the Supreme Court.” Disapproving of the role played by Deshmukh in the transaction, the court said “the defence of innocence raised by respondent cannot be accepted. It appears that the managing director of MFSCDC and Mukta Arts were emboldened by the fact that their illegal action has the blessings of the highest functionary of the executive arm of the state.”