Updated: September 18, 2020 10:16:38 am
A five-star hotel, Laxmi Vilas was originally a palace of the former king of Udaipur Maharaja Fateh Singh, dating back to 1911. Records from the Ministry of Finance show that the central government sold 89.97% of its stake for Rs 7 , 52 crore in 2002 against a reserve price of Rs 6.12 crore. The hotel had recorded provisional losses of Rs 1.07 crore in 2000-01.
An IWC Special Court in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan has ordered the registration of a criminal case against former Union Minister Arun Shourie, retired IAS officer Pradip Baijal and three others, after prima facie crimes such as criminal conspiracy and cheating were discovered against him in connection with the sale of a luxury hotel in Rajasthan dating from 2002.
In an order dated September 15, the court of the IWC Special Judge Pooran Kumar Sharma rejected a closing report filed by the IWC in the matter of the sale of the Laxmi Vilas Palace Hotel, Udaipur. By summoning all the defendants by arrest warrants, the court said it had been prima facie proven that Shourie, during his tenure as Minister of Divestment in the Vajpayee government in the Center, and Baijal, as secretary of the department, had “Collectively and independently abused” to cause a loss of Rs 244 million to the government of India in the sale.
The court also ordered the District Collector, Udaipur, to take possession of the hotel, now known as The LaLit Laxmi Vilas Palace, and appointed the officer as the property manager.
Shourie said he would appeal the order in Rajasthan High Court. Expressing surprise at the charges filed after 18 years, she told The Indian Express: “The divestment process was contested in Rajasthan High Court previously and the HC said there is no evidence of any undervaluation. The CBI had also closed the case saying there was no evidence of any crime. My name was not on the original FIR and we have no idea how it was added now. “
The CBI Special Court order says that Shourie and Baijal “criminally conspired with Bharat Hotels Ltd, Ashish Guha, Managing Director of M / s Lzard India Ltd, and Kantilal Karamsey Vikamsey of M / s Kanti Karamsey & Co to cause the Government of the India a loss of Rs 244.63.91,000 and also caused illicit gain in the sum of the same amount for himself or others. ”Names Jyotsna Suri, Director of Bharat Hotels, among the accused.
The CBI had registered an FIR on August 13, 2014, in connection with the 2002 sale of the hotel, then a heritage property of ITDC (Tourism Development Corporation of India), to Bharat Hotels for Rs 7.52 crore. The FIR said that the deal had resulted in a loss of Rs 143.48 crore to the government. In its order, the court said that the CBI investigation had found that the property was worth Rs 58.87 crore and that the land it was on was worth Rs 193 crore, which equates to a “loss” of Rs 244 crore. .
In the initial FIR, the CBI did not include Shourie, only named Baijal, Guha of New Delhi-based financial advisory firm Lzard India Ltd, Asset Valuer Vikamsey of Kanti Karamsey & Co., and Bharat Hotels based in New Delhi, in addition to “other unknown government officials / officials and private persons”, as per Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Later, in its final report, the CBI said that it had not found sufficient evidence to initiate legal proceedings for the divestment. However, it maintained that Kanti Karamsey & Co. had not made a proper assessment and referred the matter to the Ministry of Finance.
Subsequently, the CBI did not file a charge sheet and instead filed a closing report, asking the court to accept it.
Shourie said: “It is pertinent to note that none of these divestment decisions were made by me or any official personally, but rather by the Cabinet Divestment Committee headed by then-Prime Minister Shri AB Vajpayee and comprising the then Finance Minister, among others. Also, there has been a lot of talk about valuation and there seems to be a misunderstanding. There is a difference when an establishment is evaluated when it has closed and when it is operating with all its losses and liabilities ”.
Questioning the arrest warrant against him, Shourie said: “A Supreme Court ruling states that there has to be a subpoena, a bail order and if both are ignored, then an arrest warrant must be issued without bail. in severe cases “.
Baijal said it had no comment to offer as of now and was reviewing the documents. Lalit communication officials did not receive calls.
Rejecting the closing report of the IWC, the IWC Special Court said that crimes under Section 120 B of the IPC (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 420 (cheating) as well as Sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act they had been tested against Shourie and the others. “When the investigating officer accepted in the investigation that the Laxmi Vilas hotel was undervalued, he should have filed a charge sheet,” the court said.
Noting that Shourie is associated with journalism and that he has often spoken about the Corruption Prevention Act, the judge said: “But despite that, he indulged in this activity, which shows his dual personality.”
The court ordered the District Collector to ensure the operation of the hotel through an Indian government organization with experience in the hotel.
A five star hotel, Laxmi Vilas was originally a palace of the former king of Udaipur Maharaja Fateh Singh, dating back to 1911. Records from the Ministry of Finance show that the central government sold 89.97% of its stake for Rs 7 , 52 crore in 2002 against a reserve price of Rs 6.12 crore. The hotel had recorded provisional losses of Rs 1.07 crore in 2000-01.
Writing for The Indian Express shortly after CBI introduced the FIR in 2014, Shourie had said: “For gross income of Rs 2 million a year, the hotel spent Rs 3 million, a loss of 51 percent. Eleven parties expressed an initial interest in bidding on the hotel. Five of them carried out due diligence. Such was the state of the property that four of the five abandoned it. “
The hotel now ranks among the top heritage properties in Rajasthan.
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