TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapterization Page No.

Disclaimer..............................................................................................3
Acknowledgement....................................4
Table of Abbreviation ..................................................................................................5

Chapters

I. Chapter 1 Introduction................................................................................................5

Brief introduction of the research project

Research Methodology

Objects of research

Scheme of Chapterization

II. Chapter 2 International Legal Regime for PVPs: An Overview................................8

III. Chapter 3 Sui Generis System...................................................................................13
IV. Chapter 4 Protection Of New Plant Varieties In India.............................................18
V. Chapter 5 Conclusion................................................................................................22
VI. Reference.....................................................................................................................24

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Disclaimer

This project report has been prepared by the author as a student of 3rd year under the five
year BBA.LL.B (H) Program in the MATS Law School for academic purposes only. The
views expressed in this report are personal to the student and do not reflect the view of
commission or any another person, law school or any of its staff or personnel. Any for
academically publishing of this article then it must be authority from the respective law
school in any manner. This report is the Adarsh Housing Society Scam. Maharashtra
and the same or any part thereof may not be used in any manner whatsoever, without express
permission of the MATS Law School in writing.

Divyansh Sharma

MU13BBALLB09

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel highly elated to work on this dynamic and highly important topic that is
Adarsh Housing Society Scam. Maharashtra This topic instantly drew my attention and
attracted me to research on it.
I am fortunate to be provided with an opportunity to write my paper under the kind
supervision of Miss Ruqiayyah Naaz (Asst. Prof., MATS Law School) and I am thankful to
her for providing me with the appropriate guidance while writing the paper.
This paper would not have been possible without her valuable inputs, honest remarks
and earnest effort to guide me throughout the drafting of the paper. I would like to extend my
sincere thank to her for giving me her valuable time to view my research from her busy
schedule.
I am highly indebted to the library staff to help me find the relevant books and
journals, and other officials and office staffs, who have also extended their help whenever
needed.
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my friends and for their review and honest
remarks.
So, I hope I have tried my level best to bring in new ideas and thoughts regarding the
basics of this topic. Not to forget my deep sense of regard and gratitude to my faculty adviser,
Miss. Ruqaiyyah Naaz who played the role of a protagonist. Last but not the least; I thank all
the members of the MATS Law School and all others who have helped me in making this
project a success.

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Chapter 1-

Introduction

Adarsh Housing Society, a 31-storey upscale residential complex in Colaba, Mumbai, should

have originally housed war heroes and war widows who lost their spouses during the 1999

Kargil War. But the occupants of the apartment complex built on defence land ended up

being bureaucrats and relatives of politicians who were in no way connected with the Kargil

war. The purpose of this report is to highlight unethical practices involved in one of the well-

known scams in India - The Adarsh Housing Society Scam. This society is a cooperative

society in Mumbai and the scam dates back to February 2002. At that time, a request was

made to the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra for allotment of land in Colaba area of

Mumbai for the construction of this housing society. Colaba is one of the most posh areas in

Mumbai having Nariman Point in its vicinity. The welfare of serving and retired personnel of

the Defence Services was the main motive behind the allotment. But over a period of 10

years, some bureaucrats, military officers and politicians went ahead to mould the rules in

their favour, so as to get the flats allotted to them at much lowered prices. The Comptroller

and Auditor General of India 2011 report to the President pointed out The episode of Adarsh

Co-operative Housing Society reveals how a group of select officials, placed in key posts,

could subvert rules and regulations in order to grab prime government land- a public

property- for personal benefit. The allegations against the three former Chief Ministers of

Maharashtra, Sushil Kumar Shinde, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan are still

in process by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Income tax (IT) department and

Enforcement Directorate (ED).

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Objectives of paper:-

The paper has been designed to fulfil following objectives, which could contribute
and facilitate to enhance the understanding following:-
1. What is Adarsh Scam?
2. Who was its Creator?
3. What black mark it create on Mumbai

Review of literature: All the data sources are secondary, which is taken from library, book
journals and internet.

Research Methodology:-

The doctrinal method of research has been used, which involve collection of data
from both primary and secondary sources. The researcher has relied on primary sources like
International Charters, resolutions of the international bodies and committees related thereto
and Secondary sources like books written by various eminent authors and articles found in
the journals and websites, e-journals. Use of internet also became very relevant to find out the
most updated, relevant and apt information which helped me in exploring the subject from
various dimensions.

Scheme of Chapterization

The complete project is divided into Five chapters. The first chapter is an introduction to the
research project. The second focuses on Legal Frame Work. The third one is the study on role
of Sui generis plant variety protection system and its importance. The fourth chapter deals
with the protection of new plant varieties and legal regime in India . And in last chapter the
project is been concluded on the basis of study, research and information.

NATURE AND KIND OF RESEARCH

The doctrinal research methodology would be used in analysing the Natural resource
accounting and to see its international prospective.

Limitation of the study: The research has been completed in approx. 1 week

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Chapter 2

The Adarsh Housing Society is a posh, 31-storey building constructed on prime real estate in
Colaba, Mumbai, for the welfare of war widows and personnel of Indias Ministry of
Defence. Over a period of several years, politicians, bureaucrats and military officers
allegedly conspired to bend several rules concerning land ownership, zoning, floor space
index and membership get themselves flats allotted in this cooperative society at below-
market rates.
The scam was unearthed in November 2010 which forced the then Chief Minister of
Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan, to resign. In 2011, a report of the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India (CAG) said, The episode of Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society reveals
how a group of select officials, placed in key posts, could subvert rules and regulations in
order to grab prime government land - a public property - for personal benefit. In January
2011, the Maharashtra government set up a two-member judicial commission to inquire into
the matter. The commission was headed by retired High Court judge Justice J A Patil, with N
N Kumbhar acting as member secretary. After deposing 182 witnesses over 2 years, the
commission submitted its final report in April 2013 to the Maharashtra government. The
report highlighted 25 illegal allotments, including 22 purchases made by proxy. The report
also indicted four former chief ministers of Maharashtra: Ashok Chavan, Vilasrao
Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Shivajirao Nilangekar Patil, 2 former urban
development ministers: Rajesh Tope and Sunil Tatkare and 12 top bureaucrats for various
illegal acts. The allottees included Devyani Khobragade. The Central Bureau of Investigation
(CBI), the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are currently
investigating allegations that three former chief ministers of Maharashtra - Sushilkumar
Shinde, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Ashok Chavan - were involved in the scam.

BACKGROUND OF THE ADARSH CO OPERATIVE HOUSING SOCIETY

A serving Sub-divisional Officer in the Defence Estates Office (DEO) Mumbai, Shri

Ramchandra Sonelal Thakur, addressed a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in 2002

as Chief Promoter of the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society. This letter was regarding the

allotment of 38542 sq. metres of land in Block No VI of the Back Bay Reclamation Scheme

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(BBR), Colaba, Mumbai. The major reason for this allotment was quoted as the welfare of

serving and retired personnel of the Defence Services in numerous communications among

the Society, Defence authorities and the Government of Maharashtra from time to time.

Relaxations were sought in favour of the society from time to time on the grounds of Girls

hostel for wards of Army officers posted in far-flung areas, welfare of Kargil War heroes,

welfare of War-widows and of soldiers who have served their motherland. But gradually it

became clear that there was no place for any girls hostel or any other facility for welfare of

servicemen. It is quite obvious that though references to widows and Kargil Heroes were

repeatedly made, they didnt have the financial capability to meet the cost of the flats in this

society.

VIOLATIONS

The Adarsh Housing Cooperative Society was constructed in the Colaba area of Mumbai.

The Indian Defence forces consider this area to be a sensitive coastal area and there are many

Indian Defence establishments here.

Vice Admiral Sanjeev Bhasin, Commander, Western Naval Command, pointed that the

building posed a major security concern as it overlooked many military installations in that

area. He wrote a letter in July, 2010 to Defence Ministry seeking action against the promoters

and the officers involved in overlooking the construction itself since 2003. In the aftermath of

November, 2008 terror attack on Mumbai via sea route, the again highlighted the security

concerns posed by this 100-metre tall building. This building has also violated the Coastal

Regulatory Zone (CRZ) II limit of a height of 30 metres because it is next to a planned

helipad and military installations.

In a letter to the Defence Ministry and the Army, Vice Admiral Bhasin mentioned that

despite repeated intimations to various concerned departments of Maharashtra Government to

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not issue a 'No Objection Certificate(NOC)' or an 'Occupation Certificate (OC)', it came to

notice that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) had issued

an OC to Adarsh Society building.

The inquiry ordered by Defence Minister A K Antony also didnt rule out the involvement of

some officers with building promoters at ground level, though it appeared to be a criminal

conspiracy. It is not surprising as the scam took place over a period of 10 years and had to

require the active involvement of many high ranked officials. Many rules were bent or

flouted to allow the construction. Some of the examples are obtaining NOC from Army for

construction of building in such a sensitive zone, modifying the MMRDA development plan

and obtaining another for residential development in Coastal Regulation Zone. Some of the

big names who were allotted flats were the former Army chiefs Generals N C Vij and Deepak

Kapoor, ex-Navy chief Admiral Madhavendra Singh, former Army Vice Chief Lt Gen

Shantanu Chowdhary, former Union Minister and Shiv Sena MP Suresh.

All efforts made by some honest officers were ignored by the senior officials. As stated by

former defence estate officer and original whistleblower in Adarsh Housing Scam, Saurav

Ray, The principal director, defence estates southern command was the advisor of GOC in C

Southern Command Lt General Sihota, who was a member of Adarsh. Many senior defence

estate officers in southern command and DGDE were also members and had vested interest in

diluting my objections and observations. He had also indicated to his seniors that the society

was dubious and had also objected the initial NOC by Army, terming it as a security threat.

The construction of this society also violated some of the rules laid down by Ministry of

Environment. The state environment department had informed the CBI that it never gave

clearance to the society. The department stated that some environment related clearances had

been given directly by the state Urban Development Department (UDD) on its own and it

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was only after a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) wrote to it in 2008, that the

department got to know about this. After repeated reminders by CBI to UDD seeking

clarifications, UDD replied saying that it was not aware of anything.

Stages in Adarsh Scam

First proposal of the came up before the Shiv Sena- BJP government with Narayan
Rane as the Chief Minister.
Second application came up the following year,when was Vilasrao Deshmukh as
Chief Minister.
At this time, the allotment application was sought in the name of providing homes for
war widows and veterans
On the list of beneficiaries who got flats were Ashok Chavans relatives, including his
mother-in-law.
In September that year, the MMRDA had given the occupation certificate to Adarsh
Housing Society.

What was found??

Adarsh was granted additional floor space index of an adjacent plot that had been
reserved for a bus depot.
The Adarsh building flouted environmental laws. It was found that both the Union
Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management
Authority were in the dark about who exactly gave clearance to the 31- storeyed
building
Flat of cost between Rs 6 Crore to 8.5 Crore , however members of Society paid Rs
60-85 Lakh for each flat.

Alleged violations

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 The Adarsh Society high-rise was constructed in the Colaba locality of Mumbai. This
is considered a sensitive coastal area by the Indian Defense forces and is the location of
various Indian defense establishments. The society is also alleged to have violated Indian
environment ministry rules. The scam is notable for the fact that it was enacted over a period
of ten years and required the active involvement of successive officials in many crucial posts.
Rules and regulations across many departments and ministries, both at the Centre and the
state of Maharashtra, were flouted or bent to allow for the construction of the building. Some
of the more blatant transgressions included: obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from
the Army towards construction of the building in a sensitive zone, getting the Mumbai
Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) development plan modified, and
obtaining another NOC for residential development in a Coastal Regulation Zone, often
through manipulation of records and misrepresentation of facts. Efforts by honest officers to
bring this to the notice of top officials were ignored. The issue was first raised in a newspaper
report in 2003 but did not evoke any official reaction. In 2010, it was again raised by various
newspapers and TV channels. Questions were raised about the manner in which apartments in
the building were allocated to bureaucrats, politicians and army personnel who had nothing to
do with the Kargil War and the way in which clearances were obtained for the construction of
the building of the Adarsh Society. It had led to the resignation of the then Chief Minister,
Ashok Chavan. Some of the current allottees of the flats in the Adarsh co-operative society
building have offered to return their flats, denying allegations that they were allotted flats
because they influenced or helped, in some manner, the construction of the society by
violating the rules. In an interview to The Hindu published on 26 March 2012, General VK
Singh, the Chief of Army Staff ascribed many of the attempts to malign him during his tenure
to, amongst others, those he described as the Adarsh lobby, those directly connected to the
scam, as well as those who were affected by his efforts to rid the army of corruption.

Issues
Adarsh Housing Society has defended its actions as similar to other housing societies such as
Samata, Nyay Sagar & likes in which serving and retired judges already owned homes in
Mumbai but transferred these in names of their children to become eligible for apartments in
Samata & Nyay Sagar.. Also, Nyay Sagar Society is constructed upon a plot of land
reserved for Housing the War Disabled.

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Arrests
Following the Courts criticism, the CBI carried out eight arrests including two retired Major
Generals TK Kaul and AR Kumar, retired brigadier MM Wanchoo, former General Officer
Commanding(GOC) of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa, Adarsh promoter Kanhaiyalal
Gidwani and Pradeep Vyas, the then city collector and currently, finance secretary
(expenditure) in the Govt. of Maharashtra. Accordingly, on 22 March 2012, the Chief
Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan announced in the legislative assembly that the
two IAS officers whose names have figured in the scam, Pradeep Vyas and Jairaj Phatak have
been suspended from government service.
According to newspaper reports, many of the arrested hold more than one flat in the society
in fictitious names. Former Congress MLC Kanhaiyalal Gidwani was reported to have as
many as ten flats, which he had bought on behalf of top politicians. Gidwani and his son had
been earlier arrested on 6 March 2012, by the CBI for trying to influence CBI officials
investigating their alleged involvement in the Adarsh scam. In a further twist to the case, the
CBI officers arrested their own lawyers, J K Jagiasi and Mandar Goswami. Jagiasi allegedly
asked an Air India (AI) official, one of the accused in the case, to pay a bribe of Rs 5 million
in exchange for diluting charges levelled against him. The petty cash books maintained by
Jagiasi helped unearth the conspiracy. In addition, Rs 2.5 million was allegedly paid to
Goswami. He was the Special Counsel in the Ministry of Law and Justice and at present is
working as Retainer Counsel for CBI. According to CBI sources, the tainted AI official
approached the CBI for dilution of the case filed against him. Jairaj Phatak and Ramanand
Tiwari were arrested by the CBI on 3 April 2012, for their alleged involvement in receiving
illegal gratification in the Adarsh Housing Society Scam.

Bail
On 29 May 2012, a special CBI court granted bail to seven of the nine arrested
accused in the Adarsh scam since the CBI failed to file a charge sheet within the stipulated 60
days from the time it took them in custody.

CBI special court rejects CBI plea

Governor of Maharashtra K. Sankaranarayan; in a latest development rejected the
proposal of Central Bureau of Investigations to grant sanction to prosecute former Chief

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Minister Ashok Chavan for having favoured Adarsh Society by way of allotment of
additional Floor Space Index [F.S.I.] illegally. It is stated in the C.B.I.

Inquiry by a Judicial Commission

On 9 January 2011, Government of Maharashtra appointed a two-member judicial
commission, under the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1952, to investigate alleged irregularities
and corruption. It was decided that the commission would be led by a retired Bombay High
Court judge JA Patil while former State Chief Secretary P Subramanian would be the
member.
The Commissions terms of reference were to investigate all aspects, including land
ownership and allotment, permissions given to Adarsh. The Commission was given three
months time to complete the investigation. On 27 June 2012, while deposing before the two
member panel probing the scam, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Minister and former Chief
Minister of Maharashtra contended that land was allotted to the housing society after getting
clearance from the Revenue Department, passing the buck to his successor, Ashok Chavan
who headed the department then.

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