After an unexpected victory in the Lok Sabha elections, followed by landslide wins for his sons Nilesh and Nitesh in the assembly polls, former CM Narayan Rane was leading a happy life. However, peace is now eluding him in view of a landmark order passed by newly appointed CJI Bhushan R Gavai in the nearly 30-year-old Pune forest land allotment case.Supreme Court held that the allotment of reserved forest to private individuals or institutions for non-forestry purposes after Dec 12, 1996, was illegal. Justice Gavai observed that it was a classic example of how the nexus among politicians, bureaucrats and builders has resulted in the conversion of precious forest land for commercial purposes. He observed that the permission given for sale of land to a cooperative housing society was totally illegal, as were the approvals granted by the ministry of forest and environment.SC directed the revenue department to hand over possession of the entire land to the forest department within three months.When the entire land transaction took place, Rane was the revenue minister in the govt led by veteran Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi. A senior bureaucrat said the issues raised before the apex court were brought to the notice of Rane, but they were ignored.SC has passed stringent strictures against senior bureaucrats who were involved in the land allotment. Rane is not alone. More than half a dozen senior cabinet members were involved in one or the other illegal allotment or land transfer case. None other than Joshi himself had to quit following the row over the land transfer case. Then, it was found that a small piece of land meant for a civic school was transferred in the name of his close relative.Subsequently, the entire deal was quashed following SC’s intervention.Stain on khakiPune gangsters appear to be more powerful than Pune police. This is evident from the fact that while a gangster was being taken to Sangli in a police vehicle, they had a lengthy stopover at a roadside dhaba. For the gangster’s protection, a high-level team of police personnel led by an assistant police inspector, along with more than half a dozen security personnel, were deployed.When the episode was brought to the attention of Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, he swung into action and placed all police personnel on the security duty under suspension. Senior IPS officers felt that under the civil service rules, suspension is not punishment and, instead, Kumar should have invoked Article 311 of the Constitution and dismissed them in public interest.In the past, after the gangster was released from Yerawada jail, he was given a rousing reception, with more than 100 vehicles in the convoy. Police had registered a fresh offence against him then. Besides, it was found that a senior cabinet member and son of a deputy minister had personally called on him at his residence.