Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal has been discharged by a special court in Mumbai in a corruption case related to the construction and development of a central library at Mumbai University’s Kalina campus.
The court passed the order on Thursday, September 24, clearing Bhujbal and five other former government officials who were accused in the case registered by the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
The detailed reasons behind the court’s decision were not immediately available.
What is the Kalina library case?
The case dates back to 2015, when the ACB registered a case over alleged irregularities connected with the allotment and development of land at Mumbai University’s Kalina campus for a central library project.
Bhujbal was the Maharashtra Public Works Department minister at the time. The ACB alleged that the process of awarding the project involved irregularities and that payments made to a trust associated with Bhujbal were connected to the project.
Bhujbal and the other accused had denied the allegations.
The ACB later filed a chargesheet in the case, following which proceedings continued before the special court for several years.
Who were the other accused?
The case also named several officials who were associated with the Public Works Department when the project was being handled.
They included former engineers and officials connected with the department’s decision-making process.
According to reports, the latest order has resulted in all the accused in this case being discharged.
Why was the ACB investigating the project?
The ACB’s case centred on alleged irregularities in the way the Kalina library project was awarded and handled.
The agency had alleged that payments made to a trust linked to Bhujbal were connected with decisions concerning the project. The allegations formed part of a wider investigation into contracts handled by the Public Works Department during Bhujbal’s tenure as minister.
The allegations were contested by the accused.
The case subsequently remained pending before the special court for years while the legal proceedings continued.
Kalina library project was later cancelled
The controversy was not limited to the criminal case.
The proposed library project at the Kalina campus was later scrapped by the Maharashtra government. The project had been planned through a public-private partnership arrangement.
The government subsequently took back the land and paid compensation to the private developer involved in the project.
The ACB’s case had focused on the alleged connection between the project, payments to a trust associated with Bhujbal and decisions concerning the contract.
What does Bhujbal’s discharge mean?
The September 24 order brings the Kalina library case against Bhujbal to an end at the special-court level, with the court discharging him and the other accused.
The detailed order explaining the court’s reasoning was not immediately available when the discharge was reported. Therefore, the specific grounds on which the court granted discharge cannot yet be detailed.
The case was among the corruption proceedings faced by Bhujbal over decisions taken during his tenure as Maharashtra’s PWD minister.
With the latest discharge, reports said the Kalina library matter was the last pending ACB corruption case against Bhujbal before the special court.
