MP HC directs govt to give reasoned and speaking order in pension scam case involving BJP leader Vijayvargiya

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed Congress leader K K Mishra, the complainant in a case of an alleged pension scam at Indore Municipal Corporation, to file a fresh application for getting the prosecution sanction against then mayor Kaliash Vijayvargiya and others.

A high court bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar, in its order passed on September 23, also directed the state chief secretary to pass a reasoned and speaking order in the matter within three months.

A special court here had last month closed the 2005 case of alleged pension scam at the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) as the MP government did not give sanction to prosecute BJP general secretary Vijayvargiya and others for 17 years.

Complainant Mishra, who is chairman of the MP Congresss media department, had moved the HC against the delay in the grant of sanction. The HC gave its directive on September 23 on a petition filed by Mishra. A copy of the order was made available on Monday.

It disposed of the petition filed by Mishra on the alleged pension scam with a direction to him to file a fresh application/representation within a period of two weeks along with earlier application and other relevant documents before the Madhya Pradesh chief secretary.

The HC also said the state chief secretary “shall decide the same expeditiously, possible preferably within a period of three months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order, in accordance with law by passing a reasoned and speaking order”.

During arguments on Mishras petition, the governments counsel said the representation pertaining to sanction of prosecution shall be decided expeditiously.

The special court in Indore had closed the alleged pension scam case against the then mayor (Vijayvargiya) and other public servants on August 29, as the state government did not give its sanction to prosecute them.

Mishra alleged that when Vijayvargiya was Indore mayor from 2000 to 2005, the IMC paid pension to the destitute, widows and disabled persons through co-operative institutes instead of national banks and post offices, as required by rules.

Persons who were ineligible or deceased or even non-existing persons got pension, causing a loss of Rs 33 crore to the government, the Congress leader had alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Federal staff and is auto-published from a syndicated feed.)