Mumbai Special Court Discharges Former State PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal In ED's Maharashtra Sadan Scam Case

A special court in Mumbai designated to hear cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday discharged senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer in the Maharashtra Sadan Scam case lodged against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Special Judge Satyanarayan Navander presiding over the case pronounced the order discharging the Bhujbals.

However, a detailed copy of the order is yet to be made available.

Confirming the development, advocate Shalabh Saxena, representing Bhujbal, said, "Yes, my clients have been discharged in the ED case. The reasoning will be known once the order is out. But majorly the argument that once they have been discharged in the ACB case, this case too must go, seems to have been considered by the court."

Notably, Bhujbal, presently a sitting MLA from Yeola Assembly and Minister for Food for the State, was arrested on March 14, 2016, following allegations of money laundering under Section 3 read with Section 4 of the PMLA.

His arrest was linked to the alleged irregularities in awarding contracts for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi and Kalina Library at Mumbai University during his tenure as Maharashtra's Public Works Department (PWD) Minister.

A public interest litigation filed by the Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 led to the establishment of a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Bhujbal was booked in two FIRs under Sections 420, 471, 120B read with 34 of IPC and Section 13(1)(A), 13(1)(D), 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act; and for the offences punishable under Section 420, 120B, 109, 465, 468, 471 read with 34 of IPC and Section 13(1)(C), 13(1)(D) and 13(1) of Prevention of Corruption Act respectively. The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) filed a chargesheet alleging Bhujbal and his family laundered approximately Rs. 900 crores. On the basis of this case, a money laundering case under PMLA was registered against him.

In September 2021, a Special Court discharged Bhujbal, his son, and others in the corruption case related to the Maharashtra Sadan scam investigated by the ACB. The court found no prima facie evidence of a conspiracy or illegal monetary transactions involving Bhujbal. Bhujbal contended that decisions on awarding contracts were taken collectively and that allegations of kickbacks were unsupported by evidence.