In a major rebuff to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, the Supreme Court on Monday refused to order an investigation into the controversy involving Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan, in the Barabanki land deal case.
The two judge bench headed by Chief Justice Justice K G Balakrishnan dismissed the petition filed by the UP government, which challenged the Allahabad High Court's order restraining it from initiating any criminal, civil or revenue proceedings against Bachchan in the case.
On December 11, the Allahabad High Court had given a clean chit to the actor, observing that there was no finding that the actor "himself committed any fraud or manipulated any surreptitious entry in the revenue records".
Senior advocate K K Venugopal, appearing for the state government, contended that there was a case of manipulation in revenue records which ultimately benefited Bachchan and it needed to be investigated.
The high Ccourt had disposed of Bachchan's petition, challenging the order of Additional Commissioner of Faizabad, quashing the allotment of the land in Daulatpur village of Barabanki district.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had given the Barabanki land to Bachchan.