UTTARAKHAND HIGH COURT ORDERS CBI PROBE IN HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT n its director’s ALLEGED CORRUPT DEEDS

Finally the high court of Uttarakhand has ordered a CBI preliminary probe into the alleged financial embezzlement and miss – appropriation of government money by the suspended horticulture director Mr. Baveja against whom a social activist Deepak Gargeti and known as Orchard man of Uttarakhand Gopal Upreti have been struggling hard since long. Gopal Upreti is a Guinness Book Record Holder and president award recipient for growing the highest coriander plant in the country. His relentless fight against corruption in the Horticulture department us we’ll known. Similarly a renowned social activist of Uttarakhand Deepak Kargeti had undergone a long fast unto death against the massive corruption in Uttarakhand’s horticulture department on 1.9.2022 and had filed a public interest litigation in Uttarakhand high court submitting all the relevant evidence of the case in front of the two judge bench comprising of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Rakesh Thapliyal. The matter was tremendously highlighted in the media and number of representations were sent to the chief minister Uttarakhand and the agriculture minister Mr. Ganesh Joshi but of no awail. Highly connected former horticulture director Baveja was least worried about various representations sent against him to the government high ups relentlessly finally compelling struggling Deepak Kargeti and Gopal Upreti filing a PIL in Nainital High Court. In a congratulatory message on X, earlier Twitter Deepak Kargeti wrote : Finally victory of truth over untruth, this is our huge victory in favour of Farmers. The honourable high court has by delivering order for a CBI enquiry in the massive corruption in Horticulture department stamped out long relentless struggle. Indebted to hon’ble High Court and congratulations to all the farmer brothers of the state wrote Kargeti on X .

The judgement of the Uttarakhand high court in its concluding remarks wrote : For the above said reasons we allow these petitions amd direct the CBI to register a preliminary enquiry into the matter. The CBI shall conduct the preliminary enquiry and if a cognizable offence is made out, shall proceed to register a case and cause investigations there of. We direct the state to fully cooperate with the CBI and make available to the CBI, all the original records of the case and to provide such other and further information and documents as may be called for by the CBI during the course of its preliminary enquiry or subsequent investigation . The report prepared by the SIT, along with all the materials gathered by the SIT, shall also be entrusted to the CBI. The CBI is, directed to expedite its Preliminary Enquiry into the matter. We hope and expect the CBI to conclude the Preliminary enquiry within the next three months. The petitions stand disposed off . Consequently all pending applications in these petitions stand disposed off. The judgement order is signed by chief justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Rakesh Thapliyal. The senior advocate of Uttarakhand Avatar Rawat was the counsel on behalf of the petitioners.