Gurgaon: Former Haryana chief minister and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday failed to appear before the Justice SN Dhingra inquiry commission, which is probing the grant of commercial land licence to hundreds of private companies, including Skylight Hospitality and DLF.
Hooda was scheduled to join the Commission before March 25, but it was his counsel Narendra Hooda who appeared before it instead. While the former chief minister's counsel contended that his client was not sent any documents mentioning the grounds on which a notice was issued to him, Dhingra rejected the stand.
"I have an obligation to give everyone an opportunity to put his/her words before the panel. I have already given two dates to Bhupinder Hooda, March 21 and 25, to record his statement," Dhingra said.
"After the commission sent him a notice, no adjournment application was sent to us mentioning the grounds on which he avoided the probe panel," Dhingra added.
Narendra Hooda, however, claimed that an inquiry cannot be conducted against Bhupinder Hooda as there were no supplementary documents or complaint copy.
"When the commission sent him summons, Hooda showed his non-availability and thus we gave him another chance for today, but he avoided it. It was a great opportunity for Bhupinder Hooda to clarify his stand pertaining to dubious land deals in Gurgaon during his tenure as chief minister, but he avoided the probe panel. Bhupinder Hooda is free to take any decision and the commission can't pressure him. At the same time, I am also free to pass judgement pertaining to this case," Dhingra said.
Earlier, at around 12:30 PM, a team of lawyers headed by Narendra Hooda appeared before the Commission and spent three hours before it.
Narendra Hooda told reporters that his client was asked to appear before the Commission with regard to some inquiry. “But while he was served a notice, there were no details in it... Today we have submitted a representation asking it to supply the materials as to why Bhupinder Hooda was summoned by it”.
Prohibitive orders under Section 144 of CrPC in the civil lines area, where the commission's office is located.
Justice Dhingra said the commission has sent a notice to TC Gupta, DTP of finance commission, to join the probe next week.
Bhupinder Hooda had on March 17 said he will appear before the commission on March 25.
The commission, set up in 2015, had asked Bhupinder Hooda to appear before it by March 23 and record his statements regarding allotment of land to Skylight Hospitality, promoted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra and hundreds of other private companies, including DLF.
