No court relief to Bhujbal’s CA
Mumbai Mirror Bureau
A Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court on Tuesday refused to grant interim relief to Shyam Malpani – chartered accountant for Mumbai Educational Trust headed by former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is facing charges under PMLA and is behind bars since March 14.
Judge PR Bhavake, after hearing the application filed by Malpani, issued notice to Enforcement Directorate authorities to make their arguments on Malpani’s application and posted the matter for May 12. Malpani is one of the over 25 people against whom the ED Court had issued non-bailable warrants close to two weeks back.
“Should the officials be making statements to the media without serving a copy of the charge sheet against the person who they seemed to have made an accused,” said Balagopalan. He urged the court to stop the media from writing anything against his client, as it was damaging the reputation built through so many years.
He also told the court that Malpani’s role in the case could not be a significant one and his personal liberty – remain free – cannot be curtailed based on “one or two lines which would be appearing here or there in the charge sheet”.
According to him, he got to know about his “involvement” in the case only on May 6, when ED officials knocked on the doors of his residence around 4.30pm to tell his family members that Malpani should attend the ED office by 6pm the same day or on Monday May 9.
The application states that Maplani had been in the United States of America since May 1 to attend a board meeting of the trustees of Lions Club International Foundation and that he is scheduled to be there till May 17. A copy of his air tickets was attached to the application. The advocate also told the court that Malpani was a “man of some repute” in the society and wasn’t absconding. He also requested the court to convert the non-bailable warrant to summons, but that too was refused.
The ED is probing Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew in a case concerning a contract that Bhujbal allegedly gave a builder in 2005 without inviting tenders for construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi when he was the Minister of State’s Public Works Department.
The ED has alleged that around Rs 870 crore was generated from the deal and it is trying to trace the money. Bhujbal was arrested on the allegations that the Bhujbals received cash in lieu of projects awarded to contractors and channelled such illegal cash into various companies and integrated it into business activities of companies they controlled.
A Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court on Tuesday refused to grant interim relief to Shyam Malpani – chartered accountant for Mumbai Educational Trust headed by former Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, who is facing charges under PMLA and is behind bars since March 14.
Judge PR Bhavake, after hearing the application filed by Malpani, issued notice to Enforcement Directorate authorities to make their arguments on Malpani’s application and posted the matter for May 12. Malpani is one of the over 25 people against whom the ED Court had issued non-bailable warrants close to two weeks back.
Malpani’s application, filed through advocate Nithianandan Balagopalan, says that he hasn’t been provided with a copy of the voluminous charge sheet filed against Bhujbal, and that he came to know of his alleged involvement in the case only through media reports.
“Should the officials be making statements to the media without serving a copy of the charge sheet against the person who they seemed to have made an accused,” said Balagopalan. He urged the court to stop the media from writing anything against his client, as it was damaging the reputation built through so many years.
He also told the court that Malpani’s role in the case could not be a significant one and his personal liberty – remain free – cannot be curtailed based on “one or two lines which would be appearing here or there in the charge sheet”.
According to him, he got to know about his “involvement” in the case only on May 6, when ED officials knocked on the doors of his residence around 4.30pm to tell his family members that Malpani should attend the ED office by 6pm the same day or on Monday May 9.
The application states that Maplani had been in the United States of America since May 1 to attend a board meeting of the trustees of Lions Club International Foundation and that he is scheduled to be there till May 17. A copy of his air tickets was attached to the application. The advocate also told the court that Malpani was a “man of some repute” in the society and wasn’t absconding. He also requested the court to convert the non-bailable warrant to summons, but that too was refused.
The ED is probing Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew in a case concerning a contract that Bhujbal allegedly gave a builder in 2005 without inviting tenders for construction of Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi when he was the Minister of State’s Public Works Department.
The ED has alleged that around Rs 870 crore was generated from the deal and it is trying to trace the money. Bhujbal was arrested on the allegations that the Bhujbals received cash in lieu of projects awarded to contractors and channelled such illegal cash into various companies and integrated it into business activities of companies they controlled.
