Relief for Mayawati in Taj Corridor case
Lucknow : In a breather for former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court Monday dismissed a public suit seeking her prosecution in the Taj Corridor case.
The court ruled that the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and her close aide and former PWD minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui would not be tried.
Briefing the media, BSP general secretary and Mayawati’s counsel S.C. Mishra said the suit was “dismissed on ground that it was non-maintainable”.
He said the suit was “malafide” as it was filed on the eve of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Mayawati, when in office 10 years ago, was alleged to have embezzled Rs. 17 crore in a project that aimed to develop the area around the Taj Mahal.
Petioner Prince Lenin said he would explore the option of moving the Supreme Court.
The petitioner’s counsel, S.C. Pandey, told IANS that the judgement was deeply disappointing.
The case was being pursued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on the directions of the Supreme Court, but had to be suspended after the refusal of then governor T.V. Rajeshwar to sanction Mayawati’s prosecution.
Photo : AFP
