Allegations Of Corruption Into The Affairs Of NOIDA, GNOIDA: Allahabad High Court Issues Notice To UP Govt. On Plea Seeking CBI Probe

The plea refers to the report of CAG that there has been a scam to the tune of thirty thousand crores.

The Bench of Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh allowed impleading of Comptroller and Auditor General of India as a party in the writ petition, if the petitioner is so advised.

The order comes on the plea filed by one Abhishek Tripathi through Advocate Shreya Chaudhary alleging that the draft of the C.A.G. audit report regarding accounts of NOIDA, GNIDA and Yamuna Expressway Development Authority has not been placed in the public domain.

The Plea further contends that since the functioning of NOIDA, GNIDA and Yamuna Expressway Development Authority involve public expenditure, the report of the C.A.G. is required to be placed in the public domain, an enquiry by constituting S.I.T. or a court-monitored CBI enquiry and ED enquiry has been prayed in this petition.

Issuing the notice to the authorities and Infrastructure & Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC), State of Uttar Pradesh, the Court said:

"We would like to know the response of the opposite parties on the allegations made in the writ petition."

The plea states that innumerable attempts were made by the State Executive to somehow not permit the CAG ever to conduct audits in the affairs of NOIDA, GNIDA AND Yamuna Expressway Development Authority.

"But somehow through various public interest litigations and public criticism, the State Government was compelled to give consent to CAG Audit," adds the plea.

Importantly, the plea states that if these hybrid grounds of bribery and corruption go un-investigated and unchecked, the financial condition of the state will further become precarious.

The plea goes on to state that not releasing the CAG Report in the public domain and keeping it in abeyance especially when cases of misuse and corruption in dealing with natural resources like land have been coming out from time to time, is arbitrary and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution and also against Rule of Law guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Prayers in the plea

• Direct State of Uttar Pradesh to expedite the procedure such that the CAG Audit Report into the accounts of NOIDA, GNIDA AND Yamuna Expressway Development Authority can be released in the public domain.
• Direct a court-monitored independent investigation into the cases of corruption and misuse/misappropriation of land and other resources as per the recommendations by the CAG audit report in the affairs of NOIDA, GNIDA and Yamuna Expressway Development Authority and take consequent action thereupon against the persons found involved in such corruption cases;
• Constitute an independent task force for recovering the lands that have been fraudulently/wrongfully sold/purchased as well as the losses occasioned to the public exchequer on account of the unauthorized use /commercial exploitation of such land.