Shimla, Sep 7 (Inditop.com) The Himachal Pradesh government Monday said it would not file the charge-sheet against Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh and his wife and former MP Pratibha Singh in the corruption cases against them without informing the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Singh and his wife had moved the high court for quashing of the first information report (FIR) registered against them Aug 3, charging him with misusing his official position and criminal misconduct when he was chief minister in 1989.
Appearing before Justice Kuldeep Singh, the counsels for the former chief minister expressed apprehension that the government was in a hurry to file the chargesheet against him and sought the status report of the case.
Meanwhile, a counsel for the government said that it would not file the chargesheet without informing the high court.
Singh’s counsel also argued that the cases against the former chief minister and his wife had been registered on the basis of an audio CD, which has a recording of them referring to some monetary transactions on phone with former IAS officer Mahinder Lal, who is now dead.
In his petition, Singh contended that the case is frivolous and it has been registered on the basis of a CD the origin of which, as per law, is unknown.
“Vijai Singh Mankotia (a Congress rebel) had released the CD and questions over its genuineness are pending in the court of the chief judicial magistrate in Shimla,” he said, adding that the alleged offence related to 1990 and the FIR had been registered after about 20 years.
The next date of hearing in the case is Nov 3.
rounak