HC admits PIL, issues notice to Narayan Rane

THE Sinnar land grab case, which was brought to public notice by MiD DAY's expose and sustained coverage of the issue, resulted in notices being issued to several high-profile government officials, including former revenue minister Narayan Rane, by the Bombay High Court yesterday.

Notices seeking responses were issued to all 50 accused, including Rane, Principal Secretary (Revenue) and the Nashik City Collector.

Admitting the PIL filed by Sinnar resident Sanjay Deshpande (42), a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice P J Vajifdar came down heavily on the officials and also passed an order prohibiting any deals involving the disputed temple land until further notice.

Advocate Dinesh Tiwari, who represented Deshpande, said, "The court, prima facie, found substance in the petition.

The subsequent argument made by me that the modus operandi adopted by the former revenue minister was similar to those in cases pending against him for similar grabbing of temple lands in Mahabaleshwar and Pune, convinced the court to admit the PIL and pass necessary orders."

On December 25, MiD DAY had reported ('Rs 100 cr land sold for just Rs 2.5 cr') how, as revenue minister, Rane had allegedly passed an order converting 73.11 acres of prime agricultural land in Sinnar belonging to the Chitleshwar Temple Trust to non-agricultural land.

The order brought the land, which did not even come under the revenue department's jurisdiction, into the tax bracket and facilitated its sale by some relatives of the deceased trustees.

"The impact of this order was that the land was treated as personal property (of the trustee's relatives) and not the property of the trust and, in less than a month, 39.11 acres of the land, valued at about Rs 100 crores, was sold for barely Rs 2.50 crores," Deshpande had said.

Significance
Mandar Dhamne, who lives close to the Chitleshwar Temple, said, "The Chitleshwar Mahadev Temple is over 300 years old. The agricultural produce from the 73.11 acres of land is used for maintaining the temple and for conducting poojas. Its sale has upset many local villagers, who have condemned the acts of the accused, including Rane."

The Other Side
Rane, who is now the industries minister, said, "I have not received any notice from the court yet. As a revenue minister, cases came for appeal before me and the decisions were of a quasi-judicial nature. I do not remember this particular case off-hand and will have to check the same," said Narayan Rane, state industry minister and former revenue minister.