Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 25: A special court here on Thursday discharged state minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and three others in the 2015 Kalina land scam case, holding that the prosecution failed to establish any "meeting of minds" or specific overt act linking the 74-year-old politician to the alleged conspiracy to manipulate a public project and secure kickbacks from a private developer.

Special judge Mahesh K Jadhav said there was no evidence to show that Bhujbal had instructed his subordinates to manipulate project calculations, alter tender conditions or suppress rules to favour a developer.

The court observed that merely holding the position of head of a department did not establish that Bhujbal had instigated or aided the alleged offences.

The prosecution had accused Bhujbal and others of causing a loss of Rs 79.2 crore to the state government while processing the Kalina library project on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis and allegedly favouring India Bulls Real Estate Ltd.

It was also alleged that after the project was awarded to India Bulls Real Estate Ltd, a sponsorship of Rs 2.5 crore was routed through Indiabulls Realtech Ltd to the Chhagan Bhujbal Welfare Foundation in Nashik, with which Bhujbal was associated.

The case was the last matter pending against Bhujbal before the special court. He had earlier secured relief in cases involving alleged kickbacks and diversion of funds linked to the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi and a housing project in Navi Mumbai.

"The applicant's (Bhujbal) position as PWD minister (then) explains his presence in the governmental process; it does not, by itself, establish his participation in a criminal conspiracy," Judge Jadhav said in his 70-page order on Bhujbal's discharge plea.

The court further held that there was no material to show that the land or alleged property had been entrusted to Bhujbal in his personal capacity or that he had misappropriated or converted it for his own use.

The material, the judge said, "reveals that the prosecution has not been able to demonstrate the necessary nexus between the applicant's official acts and the alleged criminal object."

The court noted that the project proposal was sanctioned at a committee meeting held on February 25, 2010, after approval from the then Chief Minister and consideration of departmental reports, including observations of the Finance Department and explanations submitted by the Public Works Department.

Bhujbal, who was also Deputy Chief Minister at the time, participated in the decision as one member of the committee. The panel also included then Chief Minister Ashok Chavan and cabinet ministers Sunil Tatkare, Ajit Pawar, Rajendra Darda, Shivajirao Moghe, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Jaydutt Kshirsagar, besides senior bureaucrats.

The judge discharged Bhujbal of charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The court observed that a minister could convene meetings, call for files, seek updates on government projects, transfer a project from one office to another and participate in collective governmental decision-making.

"Such acts become criminal only when the material demonstrates that they were performed pursuant to a dishonest or illegal design," the court said, adding that the material did not establish the "common criminal design" alleged by the prosecution.

The court further held that even if the committee's collective decision was later alleged to have been based on incorrect technical calculations, it could not automatically amount to cheating by a minister who was one of the participants in the governmental process.

The judge also rejected the prosecution's contention that subordinate engineers could not have manipulated project calculations without Bhujbal's "invisible support".

"The prosecution's mere assumption that this could not be done by the officers without 'invisible support' of accused no 1 (Bhujbal) is not sufficient," the judge said.

The court examined whether the chargesheet contained any direction, communication, meeting, message, financial transaction or other material showing that Bhujbal had instructed the officials to prepare the report in a particular manner or manipulate figures for the benefit of the proposed developer.

"No such specific material has been pointed out," the judge said.

On the Rs 2.5 crore sponsorship received by the Chhagan Bhujbal Welfare Foundation, the court said the prosecution was required to establish a link between the minister's official actions and the alleged pecuniary advantage.

The judge noted that the foundation was a registered organisation with charitable objectives, received sponsorships through banking channels and maintained audited accounts.

"There is no statement of any officer of the donor company saying that the sponsorship was demanded by applicant (Bhujbal) in consideration of the library contract. There is no communication from applicant asking for sponsorship. There is no document showing that the amount was negotiated with reference to the value or benefit of the library project," the court said.

It held that the chronological proximity between the award of the tender and the sponsorship was insufficient to establish the alleged criminal link.

"In the present material, that additional link is missing," the judge said.

The three other persons discharged on Thursday were Harish Patil, a retired executive engineer; Gajanan Sawant, a retired divisional deputy engineer; and Ravindra Sawant, a private chartered accountant who was allegedly hired to facilitate India Bulls' eligibility for the tender.

Maniklal Shah, then secretary in the Construction Department, died during the pendency of the case.

Two other accused, Anilkumar Gaikwad, then PWD superintending engineer, and Sanjay Solanki, then PWD undersecretary, had been discharged from the case in February 2021.

The court also held that the tender process did not support the prosecution's allegations.

As many as 11 developers had purchased tender documents, while four submitted bids. Two bidders were found eligible, and India Bulls Real Estate Ltd emerged as the highest bidder with an offer of Rs 1.06 crore.

The court said there was no material to show that Bhujbal had selected the developer, communicated with it regarding the tender or instructed officials to alter the eligibility criteria in its favour.

Bhujbal's lawyer Sudarshan Khawase had argued that the BOT concept had originated in departments other than the PWD before Bhujbal's alleged involvement in the matter. The prosecution had opposed the discharge pleas.