CBI registers case against Ex-Haryana CM Bhupinder Hooda

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday registered a case against former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for alleged irregularities in a land allotted to Associated Journals Limited (AJL) in Panchkula.

The case is also registered against the then administrator o f the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and the then financial commissioner of Haryana’s town and country planning department.

The CBI has alleged that AJL was allotted a plot in Panchkula in 1982 on which no construction took place till 1992. HUDA then took back the possession of the plot.


It was also alleged that the then chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, also the then chairman of HUDA, re-allotted the same plot measuring 3,500 square metre at original rates plus interest in 2005 by allegedly violating the norms. It is further alleged that Hooda, in violation of the rules and by misusing his official position, re-allocated land to the New Delhi-based Journals company at original rates and ordered construction on the plot within six months, seeking completion of the same within two years.

This led to an alleged loss of Rs 62 lakh (approximately) to the Haryana government. Senior Congress leaders, including members of the Gandhi family, are shareholders of AJL. The group runs National Herald.

The case was registered after the Haryana government handed over the case to CBI for investigation. Earlier, the state vigilance department in the Manohar Lal Khattar government had registered a case against Hooda.