NAINITAL: The Uttarakhand high court (HC) on Thursday directed the state government to take appropriate action against Roorkee mayor Gaurav Goel, accused of demanding Rs 25 lakh as bribe, under section 16 of the Municipal Corporation Act. "However, the court did not comment on the merits of the matter," said the petitioner's lawyer, MC Pant.
The division bench of chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice RC Khulbe asked the state to ensure that "necessary action" is taken against the mayor within two months. He has not been removed from his post for now.
The PIL, which was filed by Roorkee resident Amit Agarwal in January, has been disposed of.
Mayor accused of demanding Rs 25L bribe
Goel is accused of demanding Rs 25 lakh as bribe in return for extending the lease of a property. The petitioner claimed he had recorded this demand on the phone. The voice sample of the same was verified by a forensic lab as "genuine", he said.
However, the state government allegedly did not take any action, which is why the petitioner approached the court, said lawyer MC Pant. In the petition, Agarwal mentioned that the mayor had also been accused of implicating the husband of one of his female employees in a false case. He had allegedly put pressure on the employee to establish a romantic relationship with him. Cops had initially registered an FIR in the case but later filed a final report. However, a lower court quashed this report and ordered a reinvestigation.
Citing the above, the petitioner accused Roorkee mayor Gaurav Goel of "misuse of office" and pleaded that he be removed from his post. "Section 16 of the Municipal Corporation Act speaks of the ways in which a mayor can be removed from the post, especially if he does not discharge his duties honestly. We now await the state government's action after deciding the merits of the matter," said Pant. Goel was expelled from the Bharatiya Janata Party in July for anti-party activities," said Manveer Singh Chauhan, the party's state media-in charge.
He added, "Goel had constantly been at loggerheads with BJP councillors in the Roorkee Municipal Corporation and was making statements against the party line."
