Court stays arrest of 3 accused in Rajasthan Palace Hotel Sale | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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Court stays arrest of 3 accused in Rajasthan Palace Hotel Sale

Hindustan Times, Jodhpur | By
Sep 22, 2020 09:15 PM IST

Last week, the trial court ordered the registration of an FIR against former union disinvestment minister Arun Shourie, then department’s secretary Pradip Baijal, Lazard India Ltd managing director Ashish Guha, valuer Kantilal Karamsey and Bharat Hotels director Jyotsana Suri for the sale of the hotel.

The Rajasthan High court on Tuesday stayed the arrest warrant against former disinvestment secretary Pradip Baijal and two others accused of causing Rs 244 crore loss to the government through the sale of ITDC-owned Laxmi Vilas Palace Hotel in Udaipur in 2002.

The CBI registered a case on August 13, 2014, that some unknown officers from the Department of Disinvestment, in connivance with a private hotelier during 1999-2002, renovated and then sold the hotel at a throwaway price. (Photo thelalit.com)
The CBI registered a case on August 13, 2014, that some unknown officers from the Department of Disinvestment, in connivance with a private hotelier during 1999-2002, renovated and then sold the hotel at a throwaway price. (Photo thelalit.com)

The high court also asked the special CBI court hearing the case to summon the accused through bailable warrants, a counsel for the accused said.

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Last week, the trial court ordered the registration of an FIR against former union disinvestment minister Arun Shourie, then department’s secretary Pradip Baijal, Lazard India Ltd managing director Ashish Guha, valuer Kantilal Karamsey and Bharat Hotels director Jyotsana Suri for the sale of the hotel.

Tuesday’s order by a single-judge bench of the high court was on a plea filed by Baijal, Guha and Suri, challenging the trial court’s directions. “We argued that the accused could not be summoned through an arrest warrant in the first place,” a counsel said.

Arun Shourie had also moved the high court for a stay on the arrest warrant but his petition is yet to be listed for hearing.

The fifth accused, Kantilal Karamsey, the owner of the valuation firm Kanti Karamsey and Company, has not yet moved the high court.

Shourie was the minister in charge of divestment during the Atal Bihari Vajpaye-led NDA government when the Udaipur property, owned by the public sector India Tourism Development Corporation, was sold to Bharat Hotels Ltd, a private company.

In last Wednesday’s order, the CBI court rejected the closure report submitted in the case by the Central Bureau of Investigation in August 2019, and asked the agency to reinvestigate it.

The hotel was sold for Rs 7.52 crore. During the CBI’s preliminary investigation, it was valued at Rs 252 crore, suggesting a loss of Rs 244 crore to the exchequer.

The CBI registered a case on August 13, 2014, that some unknown officers from the Department of Disinvestment, in connivance with a private hotelier during 1999-2002, renovated and then sold the hotel at a throwaway price.

While ordering the reopening of the investigation, the trial court had also directed that the property should be placed under the charge of the Rajasthan government until the matter is disposed of.

(With agency inputs)

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