The special CBI court hearing the Taj Corridor case, involving Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, on Wednesday deferred the hearing on the matter till June 1.
This was subsequent to one of the accused seeking time to file a rejoinder on the CBI's reply on his intervention application challenging a court order sanctioning prosecution in the case.
The court first set June 2 as the date for the next hearing but later on the request of CBI counsel, who said officials could not be able to attend the proceedings on that day, preponed the hearing to June 1.
Former UP secretary (environment) R K Sharma, one of the six accused, sought time to file a rejoinder on CBI's intervention application challenging a court order sanctioning prosecution in the case.
Special Judge (anti-corruption) Rekha Dixit deferred the matter after Sharma's counsel said that he needed time to file a rejoinder on the CBI's reply.
The CBI, which was given time till May 15 for filing the sanction for prosecution of the six accused persons including Mayawati, did not file the sanction on Wednesday.
The agency had on May 15 moved an adjournment application seeking time to file the same.
The counsels for the CBI on Wednesday filed their reply on the intervention application of Sharma in which the agency had contested his locus standi in the matter.
They, however, did not mention anything about the sanction nor did the matter come up in the court during the brief hearing on Wednesday.
CBI sources, however, said that it had not yet obtained the sanction for prosecuting Mayawati and five others in the matter.
The previous Mulayam Singh Yadav government, had, barely two days before the counting of votes on May 11, referred the CBI's request in the Rs 175 crore Taj heritage case to Governor Rajeshwar.
Besides Mayawati and Sharma, other accused in the matter included former up environment minister and a close confidante of Mayawati, Naseemuddin Siddique, under-secretary Rajendra Prasad and another former IAS officer V K Gupta.