The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief from arrest till April 25 to Mandakini, wife of Nationalist Congress Party leader Eknath Khadse, in a 2016 case related to an alleged dubious land deal in Pune.
A single bench of Justice Anuja Prabhudesai was hearing on October 13 the plea of 62-year-old Mrs Khadse seeking pre-arrest bail. He is accused of money laundering and several sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
His plea, filed by advocate Mohan Tekawade, states that he is a senior citizen and has listed out several medical conditions from which he is suffering. The petition mentioned that this was the only case against her and she was cooperating in the investigation to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) 15 times.
On October 21, a single bench of Justice Nitin Sambre had granted interim protection to Mr Khadse in the same case and directed him to approach the special PMLA court to seek regular bail.
In September, a special court had initiated proceedings against Mr. Khadse and four others, including Ms. Mandakini and son-in-law Girish Choudhary, observing that there was a prima facie case against them in the chargesheet filed by the ED.
On August 27, 2021, the ED attached properties of Mr. Khadse in Lonavala and Jalgaon in connection with the Bhosari Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) land deal case. The value of the confiscated properties is more than Rs.5 crore.
Mr Khadse moved the High Court last October to quash the complaint issued by the ED, alleging damage to the exchequer of Rs 62 crore. He says that the land in question was bought by his wife and son-in-law legally from the owner and there is no illegality in the process.
According to the ED, the former Bharatiya Janata Party leader had misused his position as a former revenue minister and bought land for ₹3.75 crore with the intention of seeking compensation from MIDC in future.