DLF Falls 8%, a Day after New Haryana Minister Says Vadra Land Deals Will be Probed

DLF shares faced sharp selloff on Monday after a newly-inducted Haryana minister said the BJP government will investigate land deals of the previous Congress government.

Anil Vij, a Cabinet Minister in the new Haryana government, told PTI on Sunday, "Nearly 70,000 acres of land was acquired from farmers and sold at high profits. We will order probe and anyone found guilty, be it any official, Robert Vadra or (former Chief Minister) Bhupinder Singh Hooda or anyone else, will not be spared." (Read the full story here)

In the run up to the assembly elections, BJP and other parties had attacked the previous Hooda government over the Robert Vadra land deal. The 2008 deal involved the sale of a 3.5 acre land by Mr Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, to DLF.

In 2012, senior Haryana bureaucrat Ashok Khemka cancelled the mutation of the land deal alleging that the rules were bent for Mr Vadra on account of his hefty connections. Mr Khemka was transferred three days later.

The Haryana government said an inquiry had found Mr Khemka's allegations to be baseless. In July this year, the mutation was sanctioned by the state government.

DLF was among the top losers in the 50-share Nifty. It ended 7.88 per cent lower at Rs 110.50 on the NSE and underperformed the broader realty-sub index on the NSE, which declined 3.9 per cent. (Track stock)

Monday's selloff comes at a time when India's largest property developer is already under huge pressure following a ban by market regulator Sebi, which has barred DLF from tapping capital markets for three years. (Read)

The ban is a blow to the heavily-indebted real estate firm because it will now not be able to raise money using equity or debt instruments regulated by Sebi.

DLF has sought interim relief from Securities Appellate Tribunal against Sebi's ban and the next hearing on the matter is slated for October 30. (Read the full story)

(With inputs from PTI)