CBI Court Convicts Four, Including Govt Officials, in Maharani Awanti Bai CGHS Land Scam Case

NEW DELHI April 3, 2026 :- In a significant legal breakthrough involving institutional corruption, a Special CBI Court in New Delhi has convicted and sentenced four individuals, including two former government officials, for their involvement in a long-standing Cooperative Group Housing Society (CGHS) scam.

The verdict, delivered by the Rouse Avenue District Court (RADC), concludes a legal battle that began nearly two decades ago. The court sentenced Lila Krishna Seth, the then-Assistant Registrar, to one year of rigorous imprisonment, while Zafar Iqbal, a former Inspector Grade-III in the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS), received a sentence of one year and six months.

Both former officials were also slapped with a fine of Rs. 20,000 each.The case, which dates back to a CBI registration on November 8, 2006, centered on the Maharani Awanti Bai CGHS. Investigation revealed a deep-seated collusion between RCS officials and private individuals to defraud the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The scheme involved the meticulous manipulation of official records regarding the society’s functioning to illegally secure land allotments. Alongside the government officials, the court also sentenced two private individuals and society office bearers, Ram Narayan Aggarwal and Om Prakash Aggarwal, to two years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 20,000 each for their roles in the conspiracy.

The legal proceedings were initiated following specific directions from the Hon’ble Delhi High Court, prompting the CBI to file an extensive chargesheet by October 2007. The prosecution successfully demonstrated how the accused exploited administrative loopholes to bypass land allotment regulations.

Following a comprehensive trial that scrutinized the fraudulent record-keeping and official misconduct, the Hon’ble Court found all four accused guilty, marking a stern warning against the manipulation of cooperative housing systems for private gain.