Kripashankar Singh resigns as Mumbai Cong chief

Kripashankar Singh, Mumbai Pradesh Congress Chief, has resigned from the post in the wake of party's poor showing in the civic elections last week.

"Kripashankar Singh sent his resignation on the day the results of the election to Brihan Mumbai Corporation were out. It has been accepted," Mohan Prakash, Congress leader in charge of Maharashtra, told mediapersons on Wednesday.

The announcement of the resignation came on a day the Bombay high court asked the Mumbai Police to seek sanction for prosecution of Singh under the Prevention of Corruption Act on a PIL against him on allegations of amassing income disproportionate to income.

The Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance won the BMC elections to retain power for the third time defeating the Congress-NCP alliance.

"The commissioner of police shall obtain sanction from the government to prosecute Kripashankar Singh for criminal misconduct under the Prevention of Corruption Act," a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice Roshan Dalvi said on Wednesday.

The bench further said that the CP Arup Patnaik shall collect documentary evidence regarding all movable and immovable properties of Kripashankar and his family, including his wife, son and daughter-in-law, who will also be prosecuted for aiding in the crime.

"The immovable properties of Kripashankar shall be attached. We do not want to pass any directions regarding the bank accounts of the respondents as it is alleged that the money might have been washed out," the court said.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by activist Sanjay Tiwari, who alleged that the Congress MLA had amassed wealth disproportionate to his known sources of income.

The court while keeping the PIL pending has directed the CP to file a compliance report on April 19.

"The PIL shall be treated as FIR and the report submitted by the state Anti-Corruption Bureau in March 2011 showing Kripashankar's income and expenditure shall be treated as investigation," the court said.

A prayer by Kripashankar's lawyer seeking a stay on the order was rejected.

Tiwari has alleged in the petition that Singh had been close to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, currently in jail for alleged involvement in a multi-crore hawala scam. He alleged that several monetary transactions had taken place between them.

Singh's son Narendra Mohan is married to Ankita, daughter of Kamlesh Singh, who was a minister in the Koda cabinet, and is now in jail in connection with the hawala scam.

Ankita had received Rs 1.75 crore in her account from Kamlesh, the PIL said, adding there were huge transactions from the bank accounts of Kripashankar's wife Malti Devi too.

Kripashankar's counsels had opposed the PIL, calling it politically motivated and one that served Bharatiya Janata Party's interests.

"It is a Political Interest Litigation filed to malign the image of Singh and his family. Petitioner Sanjay Tiwari, under the garb of RTI activist, is riding piggyback on the interests of BJP. It is a case between BJP and Congress," said senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Singh.