As the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai is likely to hear bail application filed by senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal in the money laundering case, one more person has approached the court seeking cancellation of non-bailable warrant issued against him and also anticipatory bail.

Shyam Malpani is one of the persons against whom the PMLA court had issued NBW in connection with the alleged Maharashtra Sadan scam. His lawyer in the application filed before the court has said that Malpani is in the United States to attend a meeting scheduled earlier and he had left India to attend this meeting on May 1.

According to the applicant, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had not given him copy of the chargesheet and he was not aware of what he is charged for and hence he is unable to defend himself.

His lawyer has requested the court to allow him to attend the court on May 17 because he is returning to India on that date. He has also sought cancellation of NBW and pre-arrest bail. The special judge P.R. Bhavake has posted this application for hearing on May 10. The court had issued NBW against Balwa, Bhujbal’s son Pankaj and other accused on April 27.

The ED had filed two FIRs against Bhujbal and others under the money laundering laws, based on first information reports filed by the Maharashtra ACB, to probe alleged irregularities in the construction of the ‘Maharashtra Sadan’ in Delhi and the Kalina land grabbing case in Mumbai.