PTI

Lucknow, Dec 12: In a major reprieve to Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan, the Lucknow bench of Allabahad High Court on Tuesday December 11, allowed the actor to withdraw his petition challenging a previous order in the Barabanki land dispute case and directed that no proceedings be intitiated against him in the matter.

A single bench of Justice AN Verma, while disposing off Bachchan's petition as withdrawn, also directed that the order of additional commissioner of Faizabad on the land in question would remain enforced.

The court said since Bachchan had abandoned his claim over the plot in Daulatpur village of Barabanki district and the village council assured it will not initiate any criminal proceeding - civil, criminal or revenue - against the actor if he forgoes his claim over the land, the petition can be withdrawn.

The bench said Bachchan would not lay any claim over the land in any way. It also observed there were no findings that the actor had forged entries in the revenue records and directed that no criminal, civil or revenue proceedings are initiated against him.

Government counsel DK Upadhyay said he would decide the next course of action after studying the judgement.

The court had on December six reserved its judgement on Bachchan's petition challenging the additional commissioner's order quashing allotment of the farmland during the previous Samajwadi Party regime.

In an apparent attempt to wriggle out of the controversy, Bachchan had offered to abandon his claim over the land.