Lucknow:  June 05, 2007- : The Uttar Pradesh Governor T V Rajeswar on Tuesday has turned down the request of CBI  to prosecute Chief Minister Mayawati and her cabinet colleague Nasimuddin Sidique in Rs 175 crore Taj Heritage Corridor case.

Earlier in the day, the designated court hearing the Taj Heritage Corridor case deferred the hearing of the matter till July 5 after one of the accused sought more time to file some court rulings on the CBI`s contention challenging his locus standi.

Special judge (anti-corruption) Rekha Dixit deferred the matter after former UP Environment Secretary R K Sharma`s counsel moved an application seeking time to file the rulings on the CBI`s reply on his intervention application.

The matter could not be heard as the court adjourned the hearing on the application of Sharma`s counsel as per Agencies reports.

The CBI, which was given till May 15 last to file the sanction for prosecuting six accused persons, including Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, did not file the sanction today.

The agency had on May 15 moved an adjournment application seeking time to file the same.

The counsels for the CBI had on May 23 last filed reply on the intervention application of Sharma in which the agency had contested his locus standi in the matter.

Sharma`s counsel in his intervention application had challenged the order of the designated court passed on February 15 last.

CBI sources, however, said that it had not yet obtained the sanction for prosecuting Mayawati and five others in the case.

The previous Mulayam Singh Yadav governemnt, barely two days before the counting of votes on May 11 last, had referred the CBI`s request in the Rs 175 crore Taj Heritage case to the Governor T V Rajeswar.

Besides Mayawati and Sharma, other accused in the matter included former UP Environment Minister and a close confidant of Mayawati, Naseemuddin Siddique, Under Secretary Rajendra Prasad and another former IAS officer V K Gupta.