Jaipur, Dec 1 (NationPress) In a significant turn of events regarding the single-lease case, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected the Special Leave Petition (SLP) presented by former minister and prominent Congress MLA Shanti Dhariwal, thereby affirming the earlier ruling of the Rajasthan High Court that permitted further legal proceedings in the case.

A bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Vishnoi chose not to intervene with the High Court's decision made on November 1, which allowed the state government to initiate a preliminary investigation and enabled the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) court to address the pending protest petition.

Notably, the Supreme Court did provide Dhariwal with interim protection from arrest until the protest petition currently under review by the ACB court is resolved.

During the hearings, Dhariwal contended that although his name appeared in the initial complaint, the ACB subsequently exonerated him after an extensive investigation.

A closure report was later submitted to the trial court but was dismissed, a decision that was subsequently stayed by the High Court. Dhariwal asserted that the reopening of the case at this juncture lacks legal justification.

The controversy traces back to June 29, 2011, when the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) issued a single lease to Shailendra Garg, the owner of Ganpati Construction.

In 2013, two years post the lease issuance, a complaint was lodged with the ACB by Ramsharan Singh alleging various irregularities.

This led to the arrest of several officials, including then-ACB Secretary G.S. Sandhu, Deputy Secretary Nishkam Diwakar, Zone Deputy Commissioner Omkarmal Saini, and Shailendra Garg.

A challan was subsequently filed against them, culminating in the cancellation of the lease on May 25, 2013.

The case progressed further during the Vasundhara Raje administration, with the ACB registering a formal FIR on December 3, 2014, and submitting a challan against the suspects. Dhariwal was also interrogated during this period.

However, following a shift in governance, the ACB under the Gehlot administration produced three closure reports, clearing Dhariwal, Sandhu, and others of accusations. In 2019, a closure report was received by the trial court, which exonerated all accused parties.

The complainant challenged this outcome by filing a protest petition.

The ACB has now requested the court's approval to withdraw this closure report, a motion set to be reviewed on December 4. Should the court consent to this withdrawal, the state may initiate a fresh investigation before presenting a new report.

Simultaneously, the protest petition will continue to be addressed. The legal and political ramifications of the Supreme Court's ruling are under close scrutiny as the next hearing approaches.