Shimla, Nov 19 (IANS): The Himachal Pradesh High Court Tuesday issued notice to BJP MP Virender Kashyap on a petition for quashing a police inquiry report giving a clean chit to him after he was allegedly caught accepting cash on camera.

Petitioner Devashish Bhattacharya has alleged the state government inquiry in 2010 was not fair and was aimed at hushing up the matter.

The petitioner also sought a fresh free and fair inquiry into the case.

A division bench of Justice D.D. Sud and Justice Kuldip Singh asked the state government and Kashyap to file replies within four weeks.

"The superintendent of police in Solan, on the directions of the director general of police, had constituted a special team Jan 5, 2010, to conduct an inquiry into the matter. The team submitted its report March 2 and concluded that no cognizable offence was made out," said the petition.

The petitioner alleged that police did not take the case to its logical conclusion due to political pressure.

Official sources said a video CD was in circulation in January 2010 in which the sitting MP Kashyap was seen accepting bribe from a private party for helping it in securing permission for setting up an educational institution in the state.

At that time Prem Kumar Dhumal-led Bharatiya Janata Party government was in the state.