Former Maharashtra minister Eknath Khadse filed a discharge application before a special court in a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Pune district, asserting that the prosecution stemmed from “political vendetta”.
Khadse, who has shifted allegiance from BJP to the Sharad Pawar-led NCP, argued that there was no “prima facie case” against him and he was unfairly made a “scapegoat”. His wife Mandakini and co-accused Ravindra Muley also filed discharge pleas before judge R N Rokade of a special court for cases involving MPs and MLAs through advocate Swapnil Ambure. The Khadse couple appeared in court during the filing of their pleas.
“The complaint fails to outline a prima facie case sufficient to trigger the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA),” stated Eknath Khadse’s plea. “The Enforcement Directorate has not established any dishonest intention or fraudulent transaction. This prosecution is purely a result of political vendetta, with the applicant unfairly targeted as a scapegoat.”
Khadse resigned as a senior minister in the BJP-led Maharashtra government in 2016 amidst allegations of misusing his official position to facilitate the purchase of government land in Bhosari industrial area near Pune by his wife and son-in-law Girish Chaudhary. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleged that the Khadse family bought the land for Rs 3.75 crore, significantly below its actual market value of Rs 31.01 crore.
In his discharge application, Khadse asserted that there were no “proceeds of crime” and he did not gain any benefits. He pointed out that the ED’s case was based on an FIR by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), which subsequently filed a closure report. Thus, at the time of the ED’s Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) registration, there was no valid predicate offence.
“The existence of a predicate offence and ‘proceeds of crime’ are prerequisites for the ED to investigate under the PMLA,” emphasized the plea. “There is no evidence to suggest that I or the co-accused were involved in any criminal conspiracy. The co-accused purchased the property in a distress sale.”
Responding to allegations of power abuse, Khadse argued that such transactions could be conducted by any individual and were merely private sales between two parties.
Despite the ED seeking permission for further investigation after filing a charge-sheet, it failed to gather substantial material to substantiate the allegations, the plea highlighted.
The court has requested the central agency’s response to the discharge applications and adjourned the hearing until July 8. Notably, neither Eknath Khadse nor his wife have been arrested in connection with the case.
