Court discharges Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal in bribery case linked to Mumbai University library plot

A special court on Thursday discharged Maharashtra Minister Chhagan Bhujbal in an alleged bribery case linked to the award of a contract for a library at the University of MumbaiThe court while passing the order stated that criminal liability cannot be based on the inference of invisible supportAccording to the PTI the court ruled that the prosecution had failed to demonstrate the necessary nexus between the ministers official acts and the alleged criminalityThe order stated The applicants position as PWD Minister when offence was registered explains his presence in the governmental process it does not by itself establish his participation in a criminal conspiracy as per PTIThree other accused also discharged along with BhujbalBesides Bhujbal the special judge for MPsMLAs cases Mahesh Jadhav also discharged three other accused in the 2016 caseThe AntiCorruption Bureau ACB had alleged that Bhujbal during his tenure as Maharashtras PWD minister and other accused persons caused huge losses to the state government by leasing out a plot to a private developer at a very low rate in 2009The court said that an administrative decision may subsequently be found to be erroneous financially disadvantageous or even procedurally irregular but criminal liability requires the additional element of a series of administrative decisions alleged irregularities and subsequent eventsrdquo as per PTIThe judge while passing the order stated that the prosecution has not disclosed with sufficient material a common criminal design which is said to have connected them allCourt says Criminal liability cannot be foundedDismissing the prosecutions allegation that subordinate officers would not have acted without Bhujbals invisible support the judge said criminal liability cannot be founded upon such an inference unless the evidence discloses the factual circumstancesThe prosecution says the officers acted as part of the applicants ministers modus operandi but also says that although the officers acted on their own they could not have done so without the applicants invisible support the court notedThe order also stated These are not supported by any independent material showing the actual communication direction or understanding between the applicant and the concerned officers as per PTIThe court underlined that it cannot direct an accused to face a fullfledged trial merely because the prosecution has collected a number of circumstances which upon further assumptions may possibly be connected with the offenceThe prosecution has not been able to demonstrate the foundational agreement the necessary connecting circumstances between the various administrative acts or the alleged ultimate exchange in a manner that would give rise to a grave suspicion of the alleged conspiracy it saidLawyer claim this was the only case pending against NCP leaderBhujbals lawyer Sudarshan Khawase said it was the last pending case against the senior NCP leader as he had previously been granted relief in other alleged kickback and financial fraud matters linked to the Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi and a housing project in Navi MumbaiThe AntiCorruption Bureau ACB had alleged that Bhujbal during his tenure as PWD minister along with the other accused persons caused huge losses to the state government by leasing out a plot to a private developer at a very low rateACB further claimed that the accused persons received huge kickbacks for the deal as per PTIBhujbal told PTI that the case was devoid of any merit I had no connection whatsoever in the matter he saidThe case involves a prime fouracre plot in the suburban Kalina belonging to the University of Mumbai which granted it to the state to construct a libraryACBrsquos allegation against Maharashtra Minister BhujbalThe Public Works Department PWD then headed by Bhujbal allegedly issued tenders to construct the library in 2009 on one portion of the plot and allegedly leased out the remaining land to a wellknown developer for 99 years at Re 1 per square metre which the ACB said was illegalThe probe agency further claimed that the revenue department was kept in the dark about this deal and the collector was not informedWith inputs from PTI