Sunday, November 6 2005 10:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A plea seeking prosecution of former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and others in the Rs 175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor scam by CBI on the basis of the CVC report has been filed in the Supreme Court.

The application in this regard is likely to be heard tomorrow along with Mayawati's plea in which she has opposed the report of Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) recommending her prosecution in the case.

The CVC has also recommended prosecution of former State Environment Minister Naseemuddin Siddiqui and former State Environment Secretary R K Sharma, both of whom have been named as key players in the scam by CBI.

Prosecution of three other persons; Rajendra Prasad, Kamal Radhu and M Sharma have also been recommended by the CVC.

The plea by Advocate Ajay Agarwal seeking their prosecution comes at a time when the court has already kept the matter for deciding whether it could direct the agency to proceed with the case against them on the basis of CVC recommendation.

The advocate has also opposed the application of Mayawati in which she has challenged the power and the jurisdiction of the CVC to recommend prosecution of any person when the investigating agency and the Attorney General have opined otherwise.

He has contended that CVC has not done anything illegal but discharged the delegated function of the Supreme Court.

Though there may be no powers with the CVC under the CVC Act, 2003, it (CVC) scrutinized the voluminous record, as it was not practically possible for the Apex Court to do so. The recommendation was made on the basis of this, he said in the application.