I welcome J&K HC’s decision declaring Roshni Act as unconstitutional; ordering CBI probe: Saifuddin Soz

Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Prof. Saifuddin Soz has welcomed a judgment delivered by J&K High Court ruling that the ‘Roshni Act’, under which the then government transferred 20 lakh kanals of govt land valued at Rs. 25000 crore to underserved vested interests almost free of charge, as unconstitutional and Illegal.

“I want to remind people that I had raised a strong voice against this deal which has now been declared illegal and unconstitutional,” he said in a media statement issued on Monday.

“Once the then Minister of Revenue had assured me that my plea would be accepted, but alas, vested interests have been so strong as to grab the said land with official patronage. Now, the ‘long hands’ who had manoeuvred the allotment of land illegally and unconstitutionally, must come forward to tender an apology to the people of the state,” he added.

He congratulated advocate Ankur Sharma of Jammu for filing the petition that resulted in the judgment.