MP HC acquits BJP MLA Mendola in government land grab case

In a major relief to BJP MLA Ramesh Mendola, the Madhya Pradesh High Court today acquitted him of the charges of grabbing government land worth over Rs 1.5 crore.
The division bench of Justice PK Jaiswal and Justice Virender Singh acquitted Mendola of the charges of corruption, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence and other allegations while hearing a petition filed by him, the BJP MLA's lawyer, Veer Kumar Jain told reporters.
After hearing arguments of both the parties, the court ruled that no case of corruption case or undue personal benefit could be made out against Mendola, Jain said.
The trial court had framed charges against him and 16 others on a complaint under relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act, section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 201 (destroying evidence) of IPC which was challenged by him in the High Court.

The case in which Mendola, an MLA from Indore-2 seat, was acquitted relates to a three-acre prime government land situated in Pardeshipura area of the city. The land was allotted to Dhanlaxmi Chemicals on lease in 1980.
According to Lokayukta Police, which probed the matter, the land was transferred against rules in the name of Nanda Nagar Credit Cooperative Society in 2004 for too little compared to the prevailing market rate.

At the time of allotment, Mendola was the Chairman of the society.
A Lokayukta official claimed that a scam worth Rs 1.5 crore took place in the disputed transfer of land, subsequent construction of residential flats, their sale and other irregularities.

The case was filed in 2010 in a local court on the complaint of Congress leader Suresh Seth.