The Supreme Court today said that cases against Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), involving BJP MP Anurag Thakur and former CM Prem Kumar Dhumal, are political in nature but the court will go by the merit in adjudicating the lawsuits.
The top court asked Thakur, Dhumal and others to inform it whether they want to withdraw the case in wake of Himachal Government decision to withdraw all prosecutions which were political in nature.
"These are totally political cases but we won't go by political considerations. We will go by merit of the case," a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Navin Sinha said.
It asked senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing for Thakur and Dhumal, "When state government wants to withdraw all these cases, then what is your problem".
Patwalia replied "We want quashing of the FIR lodged in the case".
The bench asked Patwalia, "Tell us why should we interfere when government has already taken a decision in this regard".
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Patwalia said that during the tenure of Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government in the state based on a chargesheet prepared by the party, the case was lodged against Thakur, Dhumal and eight IAS officers.
"The central government at that time after examining the case of IAS officers did not accorded prosecution sanction saying every work was done during discharge of official duty", the senior lawyer said.
The bench said, "Let the government move an application before the trial court for withdrawal of cases. If the application is allowed then well and good for you but if it is not allowed then you have a cause of action to come back to us".
The top court observed, "If cases are withdrawn then it will be better for you (Thakur and Dhumal) otherwise you may face reverses here".
Patwalia contended that even the FIR mentions that in a charge sheet of Congress there were certain allegations of irregularities in grant of lease for Dharamshala cricket stadium.
"This shows that FIR was lodged out of political vendetta", he said.
Senior advocate Anoop George Chaudhary, appearing for Virbhadra Singh said it is not a political case but there were irregularities in grant of lease.
"This is totally a political case but we won't go by political considerations. We will go by merit of the case," the bench said and posted the matter on July 26 for directions.
The court asked Patwalia to take instructions whether they want to withdraw the case or not or what will be the petitioners course of action.
Patwalia replied that he needs two-three days time to seek instructions.
The apex court had on April 17, warned warring factions in the HPCA, involving top politicians from the BJP and the Congress, from making the top court an arena for their political duel.
The apex court made it clear to ex-CM and veteran Congress leader Virbhadra Singh that it may remove him as a party to the case, in which his arch rival Dhumal and his son Anurag Thakur are accused of alleged corruption in the state cricket body.
The state government had informed the apex court that the cabinet had taken a decision that all politically motivated case including the HPCA case shall be withdrawn.
Virbhadra Singh has strongly opposed the state government's decision and said legal procedure needed to be followed for withdrawal of cases.
Thakur and Dhumal had argued that the Himachal Pradesh High Court had in 2013 ordered "status quo ante" in respect of the takeover of HPCA land and properties and "disapproved" the action of the then Virbhadra Singh government, saying it was "politically motivated".
Dhumal, Thakur and HPCA had challenged the Himachal Pradesh High Court order of April 25, 2014, by which it had refused to quash the FIR and stay the criminal trial pending before special judge, Dharamshala, in a case registered under the provisions of cheating, criminal conspiracy and Prevention of Corruption Act.
Thakur, who is a BJP MP from Hamirpur and was then the HPCA president, had contended in the apex court that the case was actually a civil dispute but then Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government had made it a criminal case for political reasons.
The FIR in the case was registered by the Dharamsala office of the Vigilance Bureau on August 1, 2013, months after the Congress government assumed power in December 2012.