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The Central Bureau of Investigation has expanded its probe into the high-profile Manesar land acquisition controversy by filing four fresh charge sheets before a special court in Panchkula, naming M3M Group promoter Roop Bansal among the accused. The charge sheets were submitted on Friday before Special CBI Judge Vijayant Sehgal, who has scheduled the next hearing in the case for December 11. The inclusion of the prominent real estate developer marks a major step in the agency’s examination of the alleged nexus between private builders and government officials. According to the investigating agency, the statutory land acquisition process was used as a tool to put pressure on local landowners and divert economic benefits to private entities.
Origins of the 912-Acre Land Acquisition Dispute
The controversy centres around 912 acres of land situated across Manesar, Naurangpur, and Lakhnoula villages in Gurugram district. On August 27, 2004, the Haryana government issued an acquisition notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act to secure the land for developing an Industrial Model Township. The Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that private developers and their middlemen used the threat of state acquisition to coerce local farmers into distress sales. Farmers were reportedly paid nominal sums ranging from 20 lakh to 25 lakh rupees per acre, rates that were significantly below the prevailing commercial market valuation of the properties at the time.
Investigative findings suggest that once the notification was published, private builders moved quickly to buy up extensive agricultural holdings at suppressed rates. Having acquired control over substantial parcels, the entities reportedly worked with public officials to ensure that the official acquisition process stalled and was ultimately allowed to lapse.
Deregulation Orders and Irregular Development Clearances
Investigators alleged that on August 24, 2007, an official order was issued releasing the entire land tract from the acquisition process. This decision directly benefited the builders, their corporate vehicles, and facilitating agents who had already secured ownership rights from the original farmers. The Central Bureau of Investigation stated that the release was the outcome of deliberate collusion between private commercial entities and state functionaries. The arrangement resulted in substantial financial gains for the builders, while landowners and the state exchequer incurred severe economic losses.
The scope of the investigation also covers the subsequent grant of development licences and change of land use approvals. The agency maintained that several builders were granted approvals for which they did not satisfy statutory eligibility norms. Central investigators are currently probing offences involving criminal conspiracy, cheating, and corruption, covering every stage from the initial notification to the release of the land and its subsequent exploitation for real estate projects.
Judicial Proceedings and December Court Hearing
The federal agency had previously filed its primary charge sheet in February 2018, naming 35 individuals as accused, including former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda along with several senior bureaucrats and private operators. Formal charges against several accused persons and companies were framed by the special court in January 2026, clearing the path for regular trial proceedings, though actions concerning the former chief minister and certain retired bureaucrats have faced stays from the Supreme Court.
With the submission of the four supplementary charge sheets and the arraignment of M3M promoter Roop Bansal, the judicial scope of the case has expanded considerably. The special court will take up the matter on December 11, where scrutiny of the fresh allegations and documents submitted by the investigating agency will form the focal point of the upcoming proceedings.
