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| SAC yet to clear Taj in Sedhav land grab case | | | Syed Junaid Hashmi
JAMMU, Nov 28: State Accountability Commission (SAC) has not given clean chit to PHE Minister Taj Mohi-ud-din in the Sedhav land grab case.
What to talk of giving clean chit to Taj Mohi-ud-din, sources in the commission said that a complaint has been lodged accusing the PHE minister of grabbing forest land in Sedhav area of Shopian district in South Kashmir. Refusing to divulge the details, an officer in the commission said "I do not recall, commission having given any clean chit to the accused. The complaint is probably under investigation."
He added that SAC first receives the complaint and does not consider it till a preliminary inquiry does not establish charges aga-inst the accused. "Once the commission is satisfied that complainant has ample evidence to support the charges being leveled by him against a sitting minister, MLA, MLC or even Chief Minister in exceptional cases, it goes ahead with the rest of legal stipulations only then," added the source.
After the charges are established, a regular inq-uiry begins which includes summoning the accused, calling for the evidence and finding the truth, said the source while adding that after the inquiry is over; commission recommends the governor to take appropriate action against the accused. Similar procedure is being followed in the case against Taj, said the source while seeking complete anonymity.
Stating that Taj may have been talking about some other case where he may have got clean chit, sources said that in Sedhav forest land grab case, where lot of evidence has come in the media, there is no chance of commission taking lenient view. They said that if someone is innocent, law has to ensure that his innocence is proved.
They added that there is a rule which says "You are innocent until not proven guilty and vice-versa of this is also true." Apart from the Sedhav land grab complaint, source added that two other complaints against Taj Mohi-ud-din have been decided by the commission. In both the complaints, Taj remained unscathed. Complaint no. K-51/2008 was filed by a retired supervisor Ghulam Mohammed against the PHE Minister Taj Mohi-ud-din.
This was instituted on August 2, 2008 and decided by the Commission on October 11, 2011. Another complaint filed by one Kuldeep Kumar was instituted on December 26, 2012 by and decided by the commission on July 23, 2012. . Further, it needs to be reiterated here that PHE minister Taj Mohi-ud-din has been accused of grabbing around 14 Kanals of forest land in Sedhav area of Shopian district in South Kashmir. He has repeatedly claimed of having been cleared by vigilance and SAC.
Though he has failed to come up with evidence, Taj has now sought an inquiry from Forest Minister Mian Altaf. He has requested the minister for constituting a joint committee of forest and revenue department to the issue of land grab settled for all times to come. He has also offered to return the forest land, if found grabbed by him.
Meanwhile, State Accountability Commission has listed a case of alleged misuse of official position by PHE Minister Taj Mohi-ud-Din for hearing on December 3. Case pertains to Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Department (CAPD). Taj was CAPD minister during Ghulam Nabi Azad led Congress-PDP coalition government.
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