Maya need not face trial in Taj scam: HC

BSP supremo Mayawati on Monday got a huge relief from the Allahabad High Court as it rejected petitions seeking resumption of trial against her in the multi-crore Taj Heritage Corridor scam.

A division bench comprising justices Imtiaz Murtaza and A K Singh also rejected pleas to prosecute Mayawati's close aide and former UP minister Naseemuddin Siddique in the same matter.

The court, while dismissing all the six petitions in this regard, said that there was nothing wrong with the special CBI court's order in 2007 dropping proceedings against Mayawati and Siddique after the then UP Governor T V Rajeswar declined to sanction their prosecution in the scam.

The CBI court had dropped proceedings against Mayawati and Siddique in the 175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor Scam following denial of sanction. Petitions were filed in the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court seeking resumption of trial against them in the matter.

The ambitious project, launched in 2002 when Mayawati was in power, aimed to beautify the areas near the Taj Mahal in Agra. It was alleged that no environmental clearance was obtained before staring the construction work.

A CBI inquiry was later ordered into the matter and the investigating agency had filed a charge sheet against Maywati, Siddique and some others in the court in June 2007.

While Mayawati's close aide and lawyer S C Mishra welcomed the verdict, chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said the people of the state had already rejected her by ousting her from power.