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Vadra-DLF Land Deal: Dhingra Commission Submits Report To Haryana Government

The report confirms irregularities in the deal.
Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of the head of Congress party, Sonia Gandhi in 2008. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of the head of Congress party, Sonia Gandhi in 2008. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Chandigarh, 31 August: The Justice S.N. Dhingra-led commission, which is probing the grant of licences for change in land use (CLU) in four villages of Gurgaon, including the licence granted to a company (Sky Light Hospitality Private Limited) owned by Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday submitted its report to the BJP-led Haryana government.

Talking to media, Justice Dhingra, however, refrained from divulging the content of the report, saying it was for the state government to make the content public.

The report submitted by the Justice Dhingra-led commission has two parts — findings and evidences.

"I have actually submitted the report. My report is in two parts, one part is findings and the other is evidences," said Justice Dhingra.

"I cannot talk about contents of the report right now until the government decides to make the content public. My mandate was to inquire about irregularities in grant of licenses. I have brought to light the manner in which irregularities were committed and people behind it. If I wanted to call Ashok Khemka, I would have. I didn't think it was necessary," he added.

The commission's term ends on Wednesday. The term of the commission was extended on 30 June for eight weeks by the Haryana government amid controversy over its legal validity.

The single-member commission got three extensions since it was set up in May 2015. The commission had the mandate to probe the circumstances of the grant or rejection of the licences for the development of colonies, group housing societies and commercial complexes in those sectors of Gurgaon for which lands in the areas of Shikohpur, Sikanderpur, Badah and Kherki Dhaula were used.

It has also probed whether the transfer of licence by the original licencee within a short period of time was in violation of the law and caused a loss of revenue to the state government. Vadra has been accused of transferring his licence to DLF in violation of the law and causing a huge loss to revenue.

Though the commission was initially granted time of six months and was supposed to submit its report by 8 December 2015, its tenure was extended for another six months till 7 June this year on the same terms and conditions.

It was extended yet again on 30 June after Justice Dhingra sought a three-week extension as he had come across some more documents which needed to be examined.

As per report, the controversy around Vadra is based on a 3.5-acre plot in Gurgaon that he bought in 2008 for Rs 7.5 crores and sold just months later for Rs 58 crores to India's largest real estate developer, DLF, which too has denied wrongdoing.

Justice Dhingra summoned neither Vadra nor the "whistleblower" in his case, senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka, who tried to cancel the land deal that's been described as corrupt.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.