Robert Vadra's transaction is among deals in four Gurgaon villages that have been studied by Justice Dhingra.
Highlights
- Extension till August to submit report on Robert Vadra's land deals
- Justice Dhingra yesterday asked for more time citing new documents
- Vadra allegedly given sweetheart deal from previous Congress government
Justice SN Dhingra, the former judge investigating the land deals of businessman Robert Vadra - the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi - has been given extra time to hand over his report amid criticism of his inquiry.
Justice Dhingra asked for an extension hours before his deadline ended yesterday. He said
he wanted more time as "more documents were received" and need to be examined.
The new documents, he said, have 13 pages of transactions and arrived yesterday.
"You may say the timing is strange...and it looks also...But if some material is there, I think it's the duty of commission to consider that material," he told NDTV. Justice Dhingra had earlier said his report was ready.
Haryana Chief Minister ML Khattar told reporters that this was not the first time that an inquiry had been extended. "The way in which the Congress has raised a hue and cry shows daal mein kuchh kala (there is something wrong)," he said.
The controversy around Mr Vadra is based on a 3.5-acre plot in Gurgaon, now known as Gurugram, that he bought in 2008 for 7.5 crores and sold just months later for 58 crores to India's largest real estate developer, DLF.
Mr Vadra's transaction is among deals in four Gurgaon villages that Justice Dhingra is investigating. Mr Vadra and DLF have denied any wrongdoing.
The BJP says the Congress, while in power in Haryana, facilitated the sale of land to Mr Vadra at a massive discount and also enabled fast clearances.
The Congress has questioned why Justice Dhingra did not summon either Mr Vadra or senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka, who tried to cancel the land deal saying it was illegal.
The former judge's response was that "private parties were sent questionnaires to which they responded".
"Anybody is free to make allegations," he said.
The Congress has questioned the fairness of Justice Dhingra's inquiry, alleging that the Haryana government built a road to make a school operated by his charitable trust more accessible.
Denying the allegations, Justice Dhingra said: "If this is a favour, I would like this favour for all villages of Haryana. I am prepared to write for all villages of Haryana that they should provide paved roads."