Chandigarh, May 22 -- The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) has said that the special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court, Panchkula, did not commit an "illegality" while summoning five officers, including former IAS Rajeev Arora, as additional accused in the controversial Manesar land deal.

"Illegality or infirmity in the impugned order passed by the learned special court in summoning the petitioners. The challenge to the impugned order is, therefore, liable to be rejected. Consequently, all the petitions stand dismissed," the bench said.

In December 2020, while framing charges against former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and 32 others, the trial court had summoned Arora and four other officers as additional accused, wh...