The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday deferred hearing on the bail plea filed by senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, till T
The special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Monday deferred hearing on the bail plea filed by senior NCP leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, till Tuesday with direction to Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its written reply to bail application. Special PMLA court judge P.R. Bhavake asked ED to file its reply to Bhujbal’s plea by Tuesday.
In the meantime, another accused, Asif Balwa of D.B. Realty, on Monday moved the court through advocate Pranav Badeka, seeking to cancel the non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued against him. Apart from seeking cancellation of the NBW, Balwa also sought pre-arrest bail. His application is likely to be heard on May 12. Ever since the PMLA court issued an NBW against Bhujbal’s son and other accused in the case of money laundering on April 27, a number of accused are approaching the court, seeking cancellation of the NBW or relief from arrest.
Apart from Balwa, managing director of D.B. Realty, Vinodkumar Goenka, has also sought cancellation of NBW against him and order on his application is pending before the court. Goenka’s lawyer told the court that his client was ready to appear before it and cooperate with ED. However, he requested the court to first cancel the NBW issued against him.
Recently, the Bombay high court rejected Krishna Chamankar’s application seeking cancellation of the NBW against him. Chamankar’s lawyer had contended that the trial court issued the NBW against the petitioner without assigning any reasons while the judge ought to have made a copy of the order along with reasons. He argued that fundamental rights of the petitioner would be curtailed in case the NBW was executed. The division bench headed by Justice N.H. Patil however rejected his application.
Two FIRs have been filed against the Bhujbals and others under anti-money laundering laws based on FIRs filed by the Maharashtra anti-corruption bureau to probe alleged irregularities in the construction of state guesthouse ‘Maharashtra Sadan’ in Delhi and the Kalina land grabbing case.
