A significant development has taken place in the long-pending Manesar land scam case, as a special CBI court has officially initiated the trial by framing charges against the accused companies and their office bearers. This crucial step forward occurred on Friday when the case was heard before Special CBI Judge Rajiv Goyal in Panchkula.
Court Proceedings and Next Hearing Date
While the formal court orders were still awaited for upload at the time of reporting on Saturday, legal counsels representing various parties in the defense confirmed the landmark development. They further disclosed that the court has scheduled the next hearing in this high-profile case for March 2. This move brings the alleged Rs 1,600 crore scandal, which has been under investigation for years, one step closer to a judicial conclusion.
Background and Key Accused in the Scam
The origins of this case trace back to 2018, when the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its chargesheet. The agency implicated former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, along with his close associates, former principal secretaries, confidants from the then Chief Minister's Office (CMO), and officials from the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and other departments.
The CBI's chargesheet named a total of 34 individuals, including Hooda. However, in a parallel legal battle, several high-profile accused, including Hooda himself and former bureaucrats Chhatar Singh, M.L. Tayal, S.S. Dhillon, and Jaswant Singh, have managed to get their trials stayed by various courts. Hooda secured a stay on proceedings against him as recently as November.
Long Road to Trial: Over 124 Hearings So Far
The path to this point has been protracted. Sources indicate that from February 2018 until Friday's hearing, the special CBI court has conducted approximately 124 hearings. These proceedings involved a range of procedural steps, including the summoning of accused individuals and the hearing of various applications filed by both the defense and the prosecution.
According to lawyers familiar with the case's progress, the court has now framed charges specifically against those accused who did not obtain any stay order from higher courts. This sets the stage for the actual trial to commence against them, marking a pivotal moment in one of Haryana's most significant alleged corruption cases.
