- (1.) One of the issues for consideration before this Court in this Public Interest Petition is the validity of the allotments of 52 shops/stalls made by Smt. Shiela Kaul the then Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Government of India.
(2.) While monitoring this case, this Court has passed various interim orders from time to time. It would be useful to quote three such orders. The relevant part of the order dated 17.04.1996 is as under : "The material placed before us inter alia discloses that 41 shops/stalls allotted by Smt. shiela Kaul on 7.06.1995 and 2 shops allotted on 3.07.1995 were in total contravention of the rules/policy approved by herself on 26.12.1994. These shops/stalls were situated in Lodhi Road Complex - I & II. Hanuman Road Market, Baba Kharak Singh Marg Market, DIZ area Market, and Pleasure Garden near Lajpat Nagar Market. The material on the record further shows that the said 43 shops/stalls were allotted by Smt. Shiela Kaul without issuing any public notice /inviting applications from the eligible persons which was in violation of the policy formulated by her on 26.12.1994. The material also discloses that order of allotment in respect of said 41 shops/stalls were passed by Smt. Shiela Kaul on 7.06.1995 (5 shops and 36 stalls). The material further discloses that all the six shops have been allotted by her to her own relations/employees/domestic servants of her family members and family friends. She has allotted two shops to her two grand-sons, one shop to the maid servant of her son. Shri Vikram Kaul, who is residing in Dubai. One shop to Handloom Manager of the firm, owned by her son-in-law and another shop to a close friend. One shop has been allotted to the nephew of her Minister of State, Shri P. K. Thungon. It is further on the record that while making allotments in respect of stalls she has allotted most of the stalls to the relations, friends of her personal staff and officials of Directorate of Estate. The details and the names of allottees and their relationship have also been placed on the record."
(3.) The relevant part of the order dated 19.07.1996 is as under : "Mr. N. N. Singh, Superintendent of Police, CBI, New Delhi has placed on record interim report No. 3 dated 17.06.1996 and Interim Report No. 4 dated 16.07.1996, interim Report No. 3 indicates that a separate preliminary enquiry was registered against Smt. Shiela Kaul and others in the matters of allotment of shops/stalls made by her on 7.06.1995 and 3.07.1995 in favour of her close relations/friends of her personal staff as well as those of the officials of Directorate of Estates. According to the report, the preliminary enquiry, prima facie, establishes that Smt. Shiela Kaul had abused her official position as the Minister for Urban Development and she had entered into a criminal conspiracy with some of the acquaintances and her personal staff, pursuant to which she in abuse of her official position, made these allotments and caused wrongful loss to the Government by effecting allotments on economical licence fees basis without inviting any tender or by issuing public notice for inviting the response from the general public from the point of view of earning maximum revenue for the Government. A regular case u/Ss. 120-B, 420, 468/471, IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, has been registered against Shiela Kaul and her additional Private Secretary Rajan S. Lala and others".;