As Uttar Pradesh was gearing up for Assembly elections, the Mayawati government was busy finalising a huge financial scam worth crores of rupees, which has now been struck down by the Allahabad high court.
The high court’s Lucknow bench, in an order April 3, scrapped a contract awarded by the Mayawati government to Shimnit Utsch India Pvt Ltd to supply high-security registration plates at a huge rate in Uttar Pradesh. Such was the quantum of the scam that state vehicle owners would have ended up paying a whopping `800 crores extra over 15 years for procuring these numberplates.
While cancelling the order, the high court has ordered an investigation by the CBI into the scam, which must be completed within six months. The CBI will also have to submit a status report to the high court every two months.
A division bench comprising Justices Devi Prasad Singh and S.C. Chaurasia also imposed a cost of `25 lakhs on the firm and another `25 lakhs on the state government. The award of this contract was decided by the Mayawati government on December 22, 2011, just months before the Assembly polls.