Mumbai: Holding that the prosecution failed to establish a “meeting of minds” or any specific overt act connecting state minister Chhagan Bhujbal to the alleged conspiracy of manipulating a public project to secure kickbacks from a private developer, a special court on Thursday discharged the 74-year-old NCP politician and three others in the 2015 Kalina land scam case.The court concluded there is no evidence Bhujbal instructed his subordinates to manipulate project calculations, alter tender rules or suppress conditions and noted that holding the position of department head does not automatically prove he 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 govt while processing the Kalina library project on a build-operate-transfer basis and of favouring India Bulls Real Estate Ltd. It was further alleged that eventual award of project to India Bulls Real Estate Ltd was followed by a Rs 2.5 crore sponsorship routed through Indiabulls Realtech Ltd to the Chhagan Bhujbal Welfare Foundation, Nashik, with which Bhujbal was associated.This was the last case pending against Bhujbal before the special court after he was previously granted relief in proceedings related to allegations of kickbacks and siphoning of funds linked to 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,” special judge Mahesh K Jadhav said.In his 70-page order on Bhujbal’s discharge plea, the judge further said there is no material shown that the land or alleged property was entrusted to Bhujbal in his personal capacity or that he misappropriated or converted it for his own use. The material “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 judge said.The court noted the project proposal was sanctioned during a committee meeting on Feb 25, 2010, following the (then) CM’s approval and a review of departmental reports, including remarks from the finance department and explanations from the public works department. This decision was taken collectively, with Bhujbal, also deputy CM then, participating as one member of a committee that included then CM Ashok Chavan and cabinet ministers Sunil Tatkare, Ajit Pawar, Rajendra Darda, Shivajirao Moghe, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and Jaydutt Kshirsagar, along with several senior bureaucrats.The judge cleared Bhujbal of all charges under the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code.The court said a minister may convene meetings, call for files, seek progress of a govt project, 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 judge said. The court noted the material did not show the “common criminal design” alleged by prosecution.“The committee’s collective decision, even if subsequently alleged to have been based on incorrect technical calculations, cannot automatically be converted into cheating by a minister who was one participant in the governmental process,” the judge said.The court refuted the arguments that subordinate engineers manipulated project calculations under the minister’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 court has therefore examined whether the chargesheet contains any direction, communication, meeting, message, financial transaction or other material showing that applicant (Bhujbal) instructed the concerned officers to prepare the report in a particular manner or to manipulate the figures for the benefit of proposed developer. No such specific material has been pointed out,” the judge said.On sponsorship routed to the Chhagan Bhujbal Welfare Foundation, the court said prosecution had to establish a nexus between the official act and alleged pecuniary advantage. The court noted the foundation was registered, had charitable objects, received sponsorships through banking channels and had 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 judge said.The court held chronological proximity between award of tender and sponsorship was not enough. “In the present material, that additional link is missing,” the judge said.The others discharged are Harish Patil (executive engineer), now retired, Gajanan Sawant (divisional deputy engineer), now retired, and Ravindra Sawant as the private CA allegedly hired to facilitate tender eligibility for India Bulls. Maniklal Shah (secretary, construction) died during pendency of case.Two others, Anilkumar Gaikwad, then PWD superintending engineer and Sanjay Solanki, then PWD undersecretary, were discharged from the case in Feb 2021.The judge stated the tender process did not support the prosecution’s case. The judge said 11 developers purchased tender documents, four submitted offers, two 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 no material showed Bhujbal selected the developer, communicated with developer about the tender, or instructed officers to change eligibility criteria in its favour.Bhujbal’s lawyer Sudarshan Khawase argued the BOT concept had originated in departments other than PWD before Bhujbal’s alleged involvement. The prosecution opposed the discharge.
