Himachal Pradesh CM Virbhadra Singh, wife summoned as accused in DA case by court

NEW DELHI: A special CBI court has taken cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against Himachal Pradesh chief minister Virbhadra Singh, accusing him of amassing assets worth Rs 10 crore disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The court has summoned Singh and his wife Pratibha Singh to appear before it on May 22 to face trial. Besides Singh and his wife, others summoned as accused are Chunni Lal Chauhan, Joginder Singh Ghalta, Prem Raj, Vakamulla Chandrasekhar, Lawan Kumar Roach and Ram Prakash Bhatia. The CBI had on March 31 filed a chargesheet against all the eight.

According to the agency, Singh allegedly acquired disproportionate wealth worth Rs 10 crore, between 2009 and 2011, during his tenure as steel minister. On September 26, 2015, CBI raided Singh’s house after filing a first information report against him. Singh had approached the high court, seeking protection from arrest, which was granted.

The CBI then moved the high court against the decision saying that the judge had been Singh’s lawyer in a previous case. Subsequently, the SC issued a notice to Singh and his wife asking for a response and then decided to transfer the case to New Delhi.

The chargesheet states that from May 2009 to June 2012, Singh committed criminal misconduct and was found in possession of DA worth Rs 10,30,47,946 in his name and names of family members, including wife and children. CBI alleged the other accused abetted the then Union minister in committing the offence, including false documents in the shape of memorandum of understanding, sale proceeds and also documents submitted by one of the accused before the I-T authorities, in 2014, in respect of firms of other accused which created and used to legitimise the disproportionate assets of said the then minister.