A court in Hisar has delivered a significant verdict, acquitting Bhuvnesh Alawadi, an associate of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator Vinod Bhyana, in the long-pending "CD scandal" case. The case alleged bribery for securing change of land use (CLU) approvals during the previous Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda in Haryana.
Court Cites Flawed Evidence in Landmark Acquittal
Additional Sessions Judge Khatri Saurabh pronounced the acquittal on Monday, granting Alawadi the benefit of the doubt. The court's decision hinged on what it identified as significant lapses in the prosecution's evidence, which failed to meet the required standard of proof. This verdict comes nearly nine years after the initial complaint was first lodged.
The Scandal's Origin and Political Timeline
The controversy erupted when a man named Dharmendra Kuhad visited the residence of then-MLA Vinod Bhyana to discuss a CLU approval. Kuhad later alleged that Bhyana and his associate, Alawadi, had demanded a bribe to facilitate the work. The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) brought the matter into the public domain by releasing audio CDs that purportedly featured conversations of Bhyana and other political figures, including Rao Narendra Singh and Naresh Selwal.
In 2014, Krishna Panwar, who is now a minister in the current Haryana government, filed a formal complaint with the Haryana Lokayukta. The Lokayukta assigned the inquiry to the then-ADGP V Kamaraj, who concluded that Bhyana and Alawadi were guilty and recommended filing an FIR.
Acting on this, an FIR was ordered on December 16, 2015, and was subsequently registered by the state vigilance bureau (now the Anti-Corruption Bureau) on January 19, 2016. Notably, during the formal probe, the investigating agency had already given a clean chit to MLA Vinod Bhyana but proceeded against Alawadi, leading to his arrest. Bhyana, who was an Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) legislator supporting the Congress government at the time of the alleged incident, is now the BJP MLA from Hansi.
Why the Prosecution's Case Collapsed
The court detailed critical flaws that undermined the prosecution's case. During cross-examination, prosecution witness DSP Sharif Singh admitted that he did not possess the original chip of the device used in the alleged sting operation. This raised serious questions about the authenticity and integrity of the recording presented as evidence.
Furthermore, police personnel who received documents and electronic material from the Lokayukta testified that these items were not sealed and were handed over in an open condition, compromising the chain of custody. Adding to the doubts, Dharmendra Kuhad, the complainant who conducted the sting, failed to identify the specific device used for making the recording.
A Nine-Year Legal Journey Concludes
The trial saw a chargesheet being filed and 19 witnesses deposing before the court. However, the cumulative effect of the evidentiary gaps proved insurmountable for the prosecution. The court ruled that the allegations could not be conclusively proven, leading to Alawadi's acquittal. This judgment brings a close to a legal saga that has spanned almost a decade, highlighting the challenges in prosecuting corruption cases based on technical sting operations.
