Mumbai, Jan 23 A special court here on Friday discharged NCP minister Chhagan Bhujbal in an alleged money laundering case linked to financial irregularities in construction of 'Maharashtra Sadan' in New Delhi and a housing project in Navi Mumbai.
Special judge Satyanarayan Navander, in his ruling, said the prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) could not proceed in the absence of a subsisting "predicate offence", which it said is "akin to a tree without roots".
Besides Bhujbal, who is currently the food and civil supplies minister, his son Pankaj, nephew Sameer, former MP Sanjay Kakade, were among the 46 individuals and entities who were cleared from the case by the court.
As per the probe agency, the proceeds of crime in the Maharashtra Sadan case stood at approximately Rs 21 crore, while buyers in the Navi Mumbai residential project were duped to the tune of over Rs 44 crore.
The judge noted that the accused had already been discharged from the predicate offences of corruption and cheating cases being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and other probe agencies.
"The prosecution under PMLA, without existence of the proceeds of crime related to the predicate offence, is akin to a tree without roots, devoid of legal sustenance and incapable of surviving judicial scrutiny," the court held.
The senior NCP leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2016 in the case and spent over two years in jail before being granted bail by the Bombay High Court.
The case relates to 2005-2006 contracts that the NCP leader had awarded to construction firms when was the Maharashtra Public Works Department (PWD) minister.
The PMLA case is primarily based on two FIRs the ACB had filed in 2015 after the high court ordered an inquiry into alleged irregularities in awarding contracts for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan and Hex World housing project.
The probe agency alleged that the accused persons, especially the public servants, misused their designation and entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat and cause financial loss to the government.
Chhagan Bhujbal, in exchange for the sanction of the Sadan project, accepted money (kickbacks) through the firms of his relatives and employees, the probe agency had claimed.
It also alleged that Bhujbal actively helped and assisted the public servants towards such illegal gratification. The proceeds of crime, as per the probe agency, in this case was approximately Rs 21 crore.
Similarly, in the Hex World residential project in Navi Mumbai, it is alleged that Devisha Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (controlled by the Bhujbals) cheated 2,344 flat buyers of approximately Rs 44 crore as they lacked proper land ownership.
The prime contention of the defence lawyers Sajal Yadav, Sudarshan Khawase and Aniket Nikam was that the accused have discharged from the predicate offence and the discharge orders have attained finality.
The state has not challenged the discharge orders and therefore, there is no existence of scheduled offence, they added.
As per the PMLA provisions, when there is no existence of predicate offence and proceeds of crime, no charge can be framed against the accused.
In his counter arguments, special public prosecutor (SPP) Sunil Gonsalves, representing the ED, submitted that there is sufficient material to show that the predicate offence was committed by the accused.
Although many of them are discharged, it cannot be said that there was no substance in the prosecution, he argued.
The SPP pointed out that there is a specific role of each of the accused in the commission of offence and layering and siphoning of the proceeds of the crime.
The special judge, after hearing both sides, said that "having regard to the mandate of law", no trial can proceed against the accused discharged from the predicate offence.
The court underscored that the discharge orders of the accused in the predicate offence have reached finality and the orders of release of the attached properties have also reached finality.
Under these circumstances, continuation of the PMLA proceedings under the relevant provisions of the Act "becomes a dead-wood".
The court, however, flagged that it cannot discharge the accused whose revision petition against the special court order is pending before the HC.
It also pointed out no orders can be passed in respect of some accused, who have not filed discharge applications.
It then cleared all the 46 applicants (accused who had filed the plea) from the money laundering case.
