Mumbai court restores 2021 benami property case against Bhujbal, kin

A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday ordered the restoration of a 2021 benami property case against Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, observing that the Bombay High Court had earlier quashed the proceedings only on “technical grounds and not on merits.” The case will now resume from its original stage, with the next hearing scheduled for 6 October before the special MP/MLA court.

The Income Tax department had first launched proceedings in 2021 against Bhujbal, his family members and their firms — Armstrong Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Parvesh Constructions Pvt Ltd and Devisha Constructions Pvt Ltd — over alleged benami assets.

Investigators claimed that between 2008 and 2011, the Bhujbals were the beneficial owners of several proxy-held properties, including stakes in Mumbai real estate and the Girna Sugar Mills in Nashik, Bhujbal’s political stronghold.

The special court had initially issued summonses in November 2021, but Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer challenged the I-T action in Bombay High Court. In December 2023, the HC quashed the complaint, citing a Supreme Court precedent, and noted that the relief was granted on legal grounds without examining the facts of the case.

Special judge Satyanarayan Navander emphasised that the HC had itself allowed the prosecution the liberty to revive the matter if the apex court overturned the precedent. With the Supreme Court now doing so, he said, “this court has left with no option but to restore the original proceeding.”

Political undercurrents?

While the court’s reasoning is procedural, the revival of the case may carry political weight. Bhujbal, a veteran OBC leader and senior figure in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has often had a tense relationship with Maharashtra’s ruling coalition. Once close to Sharad Pawar, Bhujbal sided with Ajit Pawar during the NCP split but has occasionally expressed unease with his diminished clout in the new arrangement.

His outspoken defence of OBC reservations has also put him at odds with sections of the government, particularly amid the recent Maratha agitation for quotas. As protests swept the state, Bhujbal emerged as one of the few voices warning against diluting OBC quotas to accommodate Maratha demands — a stance that won him supporters among OBC groups but irritated sections of the ruling coalition keen to pacify Maratha leaders.

Analysts suggest that in this backdrop, the revival of a long-dormant case could serve as a pressure tactic to curb Bhujbal’s influence, especially in Nashik and western Maharashtra, where his voice carries weight. It also signals to other restless allies that stepping too far out of line on sensitive issues like caste reservations could invite political consequences.

For now, the case has been restored to its 2021 stage, but its real impact may lie less in the courtroom and more in how it shapes Bhujbal’s manoeuvring space within Maharashtra’s volatile caste and coalition politics.

With PTI inputs