Co-op case: HC grants relief to Shekhawat, stay on arrest

Jodhpur: Rajasthan High Court on Thursday granted interim relief to Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society case and ordered a stay on his arrest.The minister had filed a criminal miscellaneous petition seeking relief in the matter although he is not mentioned as an accused in the FIR registered in connection with the alleged scam of more than Rs 900 crore. The Rajasthan Special Operations Group is investigating the case. A bench of Justice Kuldeep Mathur heard the petition and granted the stay on arrest. The court then listed the matter for further hearing after three weeks.Shekhawat had moved a petition on March 24 for quashing the FIR in the case and transferring the probe to the CBI. His counsel Dhirendra Singh Daspan said they sought the transfer of the investigation to the CBI on the grounds that the state has no jurisdiction in the matter.The Union minister's move came following CM Ashok Gehlot's continuous attack, accusing him and his family of being involved in misappropriation of depositors’ money in the name of huge return on their deposits. Shekhawat has also filed a criminal defamation suit in a Delhi court against Gehlot, saying the Congress leader made false allegations that caused an irreparable damage to his reputation.Meanwhile, Gehlot on Thursday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack Shekhawat as Union minister for his alleged involvement in the Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society case. “He has no moral right to remain a Union minister. The prime minister should sack such a minister,” the chief minister told reporters in Jaipur. PTI