Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal scored a significant legal win as a Mumbai special court discharged him and co-accused from ED’s money laundering charges in the Maharashtra Sadan controversy. The ruling follows ACB’s earlier nod, sealing the case’s fate.
Special Judge Satyanarayan Nawandar invoked PMLA basics: without a scheduled offense, laundering allegations evaporate. ED’s actions, predicated on the now-defunct ACB probe, were nullified.
Roots trace to 2005, Bhujbal’s tenure as Deputy CM and PWD head. Scrutiny hit over no-bid award of Delhi’s Maharashtra Sadan to Chamanlal Enterprises, accused of routing Rs 13.5 crore bribes to family entities.
Two PMLA FIRs launched in June 2015 ensnared Bhujbal, Sameer, Pankaj, and 52 others. Arrest followed intense 2016 questioning; jail time stretched to 2018.
Experts highlight PMLA’s chain-link logic—break the primary offense, and the rest falls. This outcome questions ED’s aggressive tactics in political cases.
For NCP, it’s a morale booster. Bhujbal emerges stronger, his narrative shifting from accused to acquitted. As polls near, this could reshape alliances in Maharashtra’s cutthroat arena.
The judgment serves as a checkpoint for investigative overreach, prioritizing evidence over endurance.