Punjab and Haryana HC sets aside charges against Hooda, AJL in Panchkula plot case

CHANDIGARH: (Feb 26) The Punjab and Haryana High Court has set aside criminal charges against former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Associated Journals Limited in connection with the re-allotment of a plot in Panchkula.

A bench of Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya set aside the April 2021 order of a special CBI court that had framed charges against the accused and dismissed their discharge pleas.

In its ruling, the high court observed that the material placed on record did not even prima facie establish the essential ingredients of the alleged offences against the petitioners. It held that there were no sufficient grounds to proceed against them in the matter.