HC issues notice on plea for summoning Pradip Sharma's wife

The Gujarat High Court today issued notice to Union Home Ministry on a plea of the state government seeking summons to the suspended IAS officer Pradip Sharma's wife Shyamal, who lives in the US, in a graft case.
Justice S G Shah issued notice seeking MHA's response about process to initiate legal proceeding against a foreign resident in a criminal case, and posted the hearing on May 7.
The state government has approached the HC challenging an order of a magisterial court in Bhuj, which last month refused to issue summons to Shyamal Sharma.
According to the state's petition, Shyamal was one of the beneficiaries in the graft case registered by the state Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) against her husband.

The Gujarat government has alleged that Shyamal, though staying in the US, was aware of the illegal transactions and the graft money was credited in her account.
Pradip Sharma was arrested by ACB on September 30, last year for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 29 lakh from a private company when he was the Kutch Collector in 2004.
He allegedly alloted a piece of land to the company at 25 per cent of prevailing market rates, which caused a loss of around Rs 1.2 crore to the state exchequer. In return, the company allegedly made Sharma's wife a 30 per cent partner in one of its subsidiary and extended a benefit of Rs 29.5 lakh to her.

Sharma is now out on bail.