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A Mumbai court on Friday discharged Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) minister Chhagan Bhujbal in a money laundering case linked to the construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi.

The case pertained to a deal executed during 2005–06, when Bhujbal was serving as Maharashtra’s Public Works Department (PWD) minister. He was accused of awarding the contract for the construction of Maharashtra Sadan to a private firm in alleged violation of norms.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had claimed that Bhujbal and his family members received kickbacks from construction firm K S Chamankar in connection with the project. According to the agency, funds were allegedly routed to companies in which Bhujbal’s son Pankaj and nephew Sameer Bhujbal were directors.

On Friday, Special PMLA Judge Satyanarayan Ramjivan Navandar allowed the discharge application filed by Bhujbal and other accused persons, a lawyer associated with the case said.

The ED’s money laundering probe was based on a first information report registered earlier by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against Bhujbal and his relatives. Investigators had alleged that the original estimated cost of the Maharashtra Sadan project was Rs 13.5 crore, which was later revised to nearly Rs 50 crore.

As per the ED, Bhujbal had allegedly received Rs 13.5 crore as kickbacks, while the construction firm earned profits of around Rs 190 crore from the Maharashtra Sadan project and other PWD works.

Bhujbal, along with his son, nephew and five other accused, had already been discharged in the special Anti-Corruption Bureau case related to the matter in 2021.

The court’s order brings significant relief to the senior NCP leader, who has consistently denied the allegations.

(With inputs from news agency PTI)