The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has recently filed a chargesheet before Ms. Bala Jyoti, Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, CBI Cases, Jammu, regarding the Patnitop Land scam. This case originated from an order dated December 31, 2019, by the Hon’ble High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in PIL No.22 of 2018.
The chargesheet pertains to violations detected in six hotels, namely:
1. Hotel Holiday Inn
2. Hotel Hollywood
3. Hotel Mount View
4. Hotel Broadway
5. Hotel Shahi Santoor
6. Hotel Dreamland
The allegations involve public servants who had control over land in Patnitop. They are accused of being involved in a criminal conspiracy with the owners and proprietors of hotels, guest houses, resorts, etc. These individuals allegedly failed to protect the government’s interests and allowed illegal construction and use of land that was designated for agriculture, parking areas, and residential purposes, in violation of the Master Plan of Patnitop Development Authority (PDA).
The case includes charges against eight public servants from PDA and 58 private individuals who are owners of hotels, guest houses, resorts, cottages, and residences. Investigation findings suggest that each violation associated with these properties resulted from separate criminal conspiracies.
Chargesheets have been filed against several individuals, including:
1. R K Verma – the then CEO of PDA
2. K K Gupta – the then CEO of PDA
3. Proprietors of the mentioned hotels
4. Avesh Jasrotia – Khilafwarzi Inspector
5. Zaheer Abbas – Khilafwarzi Inspector
The investigation revealed that R K Verma and Kamal Kant Gupta, both former CEOs of PDA, conspired with hotel proprietors to deliberately delay the proceedings under the Control of Building Operations Act, 1988 (COBA). They repeatedly issued notices but did not take the necessary steps to remove illegal constructions, allowing the offenders to benefit from their illegal actions.
Additionally, it was found that Kamal Kant Gupta did not take any action against Hotel Mount View despite the Special Tribunal vacating the stay order. He allegedly allowed the proprietor, Kabir Shah, to benefit from illegal construction during his tenure from October 2003 to October 2008. In fact, despite being aware of the violations, K K Gupta utilized the services of these hotels for the National Integration Camp held in 2004.
In the case of Hotel Holiday Inn, compounding fees were not deposited by the defaulter, but no action was taken by K K Gupta. Furthermore, approval for the reconstruction of a hut was granted based on a false report from Zaheer Abbas, the Khilafwarzi Inspector.
Investigation also uncovered that Khilafwarzi Inspectors Avesh Jasrotia and Zaheer Abbas failed to report illegal constructions and took no action in this regard.
The investigation is ongoing, and further developments may arise as more evidence is collected and analyzed.
