Taj Corridor case (To go with: Court scraps probe against Mayawati, BSP chief elated)

A case was filed against Bahujan Samaj party supremo Mayawati soon after her third stint as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh came to an end in 2003. She was accused of irregularities in the Rs.175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor case.

Mayawati, and a BSP minister, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, were accused of embezzling funds meant to upgrade tourist facilities near the Taj Mahal.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the case, claimed to have obtained proof that she had used the siphoned money to amass assets in her and her family members' name.

However, in June 2007, then Uttar Pradesh Governor T.V. Rajeswar refused the CBI sanction to prosecute Mayawati, who had taken over as chief minister for the fourth time, saying there was no 'element of corruption' on her part.

The Supreme Court had, in October that year, declined to intervene in the matter, and since then, the case was defunct.