Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj, and nephew Sameer were on Friday (January 23, 2026) discharged by a designated PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Mumbai in a money laundering case related to the alleged multi-crore Maharashtra Sadan scam.
Discharging all the accused, the court observed, “The prosecution under PMLA without existence of the proceeds of crime related to the predicate offence is akin to a tree without roots, devoid of legal sustenance and incapable of surviving judicial scrutiny.”
The court observed that there was no generation of proceeds of crime. “When there were no proceeds of crime, no question of its layering or siphoning further arises,” the order passed by Special Judge Satyanarayan R. Navander stated.
Social activist Anjali Damania, who had filed a Public Interest Litigation in the matter, told The Hindu that she will challenge the court order in the High Court on grounds that the lower court had “erred in passing the order in question.” She also appealed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to clarify the government’s and his party’s stance over the Maharashtra Sadan scam.
Mr. Bhujbal was accused of receiving kickbacks for awarding contracts as the Maharashtra PWD minister in three projects worth over ₹100 Crore in the year 2006. As the Opposition party, the BJP had rallied against Chhagan Bhujbal over the Maharashtra Sadan scam. He was later arrested and imprisoned for nearly 2.5 years. Chhagan Bhujbal is now a Cabinet Minister in the Maharashtra government led by the BJP. He is an NCP leader.
Mr. Bhujbal said that the discharge showed the victory of truth and justice. “For several years, we believed in the judicial system and waited patiently. I am grateful for the trust shown by the people, my colleagues and my family. We will continue to work to serve the people,” he said.
Brief history
The ACB had filed a case against Chhagan Bhujbal amid an inquiry into ‘irregularities’ in awarding contracts worth over ₹100 crore when he was the Maharashtra PWD minister. The ED then filed a separate money laundering case.
The contracts for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Delhi, a new Regional Transport Office building in Andheri and a State guest house in Malabar Hill were given to Chamankar Developers. After the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau filed a case against him in 2015 due a PIL in the Bombay High Court, the Enforcement Directorate too had registered a case related to money laundering.
Deadwood
While discharging all the accused, the court said in its order that there was no generation of proceeds of crime. “To prosecute the accused for the offence of money laundering under PMLA, the existence of scheduled [predicate] offence is must. Existence of predicate offence can only established by proceeds of crime, of which layering or siphoning is possible. As such the very foundation of offence of money laundering is the crime proceeds of the predicate offence.”
Observing that the orders related to the offence and related to the release of the attached properties had reached finality, the court said, “Under these circumstances, continuation of the PMLA proceedings for the offence under Section 3 R/W 4 becomes a dead-wood.”
The charge-sheet had accused Mr. Bhujbal and other public servants of misuse of their designations and enter into a criminal conspiracy to cheat and cause financial loss to the Government and undue gain to the developer, M/s. K. S. Chamankar Enterprises.
It had alleged that Chhagan Bhujbal, in lieu of the sanction of the development proposal, accepted money (kickbacks) through the firms/companies of his relatives and employees.
The prosecution argued that the crime proceeds generated from the predicate offence were layered by the main accused, and those were transferred to the accounts of other accused under the guise of purchase of real estate or investments.
But the court observed that once the accused are discharged from the case of the predicate offence, they cannot be prosecuted for the offence punishable under PMLA. “Having regard to the mandate of law, no trial can proceed against the accused persons who are discharged from the case of the predicate offence.
“Also, when there are specific findings that there was no generation of proceeds of crime, no question arises of layering or siphoning of the proceeds of crime further. Therefore, the role attributed to the rest of the accused in PMLA case comes to an end. They cannot be prosecuted for the offence of money laundering, when there is no more a case of generation of crime proceeds in existence,” the order stated.
Congress slams BJP
Atul Londhe, Congress spokesperson, said that the order reflected the loss of credibility of all the constitutional institutions. “The sanctity of an institution has been finished by the BJP. Will people trust any action by any institution hereafter? All the constitutional institutions have lost their credibility due to the misuse by the BJP. May it be the 2G scam or the CWG scam or the coal scam, or Chhagan Bhujbal case now,” he said.
Social activist Anjali Damania said that 11 allegations were levelled against him. “Out of them, FIRs were registered in four cases. They have got discharge in the Maharashtra Sadan case, the Oshiwara private constructor case, Belapur case. But the Kalina Central Library case is still going on. For the court to say that the offences are over is inaccurate. The court has erred in passing the order. I will challenge it. I also urge Devendra Fadnavis to take a firm stand on it and give a clarification on what his party feels about it,” she said.
Published – January 23, 2026 10:21 pm IST
