Lucknow, Sep 2 The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday directed that an ongoing inquiry into the widening and strengthening of a road in Sultanpur be conducted in a fair and unbiased manner, without showing undue deference to BJP MLA Raj Prasad Upadhyay.
A Lucknow bench of Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Awadhesh Kumar Chaudhary of the high court said the manner in which the inquiry was conducted should also inspire confidence and leave no room for suspicion.
The court made the observation while disposing of a writ petition filed by Siddharth Infraheight Pvt Ltd, which had challenged an April 10 letter ordering an inquiry into the widening and strengthening of the Virsinghpur-Paparghat-Shahpur Harbansh road in Sultanpur.
The petitioner also sought directions restraining Sultanpur Sadar MLA Upadhyay, alias Raj Babu, from interfering in the construction work and requested that the work be examined by an independent agency.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner referred to a July 28 letter sent by the chief engineer of the Public Works Department, Lucknow, to the executive engineer, PWD, Sultanpur.
The counsel alleged that since the complainant was an MLA, excessive deference was being shown to him during the inquiry and he was being informed of every step being taken in the proceedings.
After examining the two communications, the bench said the inquiry should continue but without showing excessive indulgence towards the MLA.
The court emphasised that the inquiry must be impartial and free from bias and the procedure adopted should also appear fair and transparent so that no doubt arises regarding the manner in which it is being conducted.
With these observations, the bench disposed of the writ petition.
