HC dismisses PIL seeking CBI probe into land deals by Robert Vadra's firm

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court today dismissed a PIL seeking court-monitored CBI probe into various land deals allegedly entered into by Robert Vadra firms, saying the alleged "illegal transactions" have taken place "beyond the territorial jurisdiction of this Court".A bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw declined to entertain the plea of advocate ML Sharma also on the ground that he had withdrawn a plea from the Supreme Court without seeking the specific liberty to file it before the High Court. "In the light of the legal position ...we are of the view that the petitioner who had withdrawn a writ petition filed by him in the Supreme Court without the permission to institute a writ petition before this court cannot invoke the jurisdiction of this court in respect of the same cause of action," it said.[caption id="attachment_1610975" align="alignleft" width="380"] Robert Vadra. PTI image[/caption] The court also said the cause of action, if any, has arisen outside its territorial jurisdiction and the mere fact that Vadra is Delhi resident and the registered offices of various authorities concerned are within local limits of the national capital will not bring the matter under its purview."The alleged illegal transactions into which the petitioner (Sharma) seeks investigation by CBI have taken place in the State of Haryana and State of Rajasthan beyond the territorial jurisdiction of this Court."Therefore, the mere fact that the respondents are residents or their registered office is situated within the local limits of Delhi does not entitle the petitioner to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution unless it is established that the cause of action wholly or in part has arisen within the local limits of Delhi. The court said it appears that no part of cause of action has arisen within its territorial jurisdiction. "Therefore, we decline to exercise the discretionary jurisdiction by invoking the doctrine of forum conveniens," it said. The court also noted in its 8-page judgement that the petition has been filed purely on the basis of newspaper reports without producing any material to substantiate the authenticity of the contents of the said reports.It also observed that Sharma has made "no effort" to produce sufficient evidence to substantiate the averments made in his petition. Sharma, in his plea, had also sought a probe into grant of licences to change land use of agricultural plots purchased by Vadra's companies in Gurgaon in Haryana. PTI