The Madhya Pradesh High Court has dismissed a PIL seeking recovery of fee paid to a senior counsel by Lokayukta police to plead a 2012 criminal revision petition against State Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his wife Sadhana and others in the dumper purchase case.
A division bench of Justice Ajit Singh and Justice N K Gupta yesterday observed, "We apparently find the present petition filed in garb of a PIL as "malicious". The petitioner could not point out any legal provision which prohibits the Special Police Establishment of Lokayukta to engage a senior counsel of the Apex Court in any matter."
Purnendu Shukla, a journalist from Bhopal filed the PIL questioning the exorbitant fee paid to senior counsel U R Lalit from the government exchequer, Lokayukta police counsel Pankaj Dubey told PTI.
In November 2007, Congress leader Ramesh Kumar Sahu filed a complaint in a Bhopal court under section 200 of code of criminal procedure (CrPC) alleging corrupt practises against Chouhan and his wife in a case involving purchase of some dumpers which were leased to a private firm.
Following the court order, the Lokayukta police registered a crime and after thorough investigation submitted a detailed report stating no offence was made out against Chouhan and others following which the case was finally closed by the Bhopal court.
Aggrieved, Sahu then filed a criminal revision in the High Court.
The Superintendent of police (SP) of Bhopal Lokayukta, the chief minister and his wife were impleaded as respondents in the criminal revision petition.
The Lokayukta police considering the gravity of the case, engaged senior counsel U R Lalit in High Court and sought permission from the state government which was granted.
Later, on October 30, 2012, High Court dismissed the criminal revision and later it was also upheld by the Supreme Court.
