NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar appears before Mumbai special court, gets bail
The Mumbai court earlier said there was prima facie proof that NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar had knowingly participated in the fraudulent acquisition of a sugar mill by the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB).
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Rohit Pawar had said that he was being targeted, insisting that due process had been followed in issuing the tender and that the sugar mill had been under the control of an administrator, not a board of directors, at the time of the auction. (Source: File)NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar, who was named as an accused in the Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (MSCB) case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), appeared on Thursday before a Mumbai special court designated for the trial of criminal cases involving legislators.
Pawar was granted bail by the court on furnishing a bond for appearance. He was not arrested in the case by the ED during its probe.
The court, which sent a summons to Rohit Pawar on July 18, recorded his appearance and directed him to execute a personal recognisance (PR) bond of Rs 25,000 under section 88 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Under the provision, the court has the power to take a bond from the accused for the assurance of their appearance before the court during proceedings. The PR bond is executed for the accused’s release without monetary bail.
In its summons, the court had observed that there was prima facie proof the MLA had knowingly participated in the fraudulent acquisition of a sugar mill. Rohit Pawar and his uncle and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP were given a clean chit by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police in its closure report filed in 2024. The court is yet to make a decision on the closure report. On Thursday, the court said that the closure report is still under consideration. “Many protest petitions are filed in that matter. It is pending for hearing. Unless the C summary (closure report) and protest petitions are decided on merits, no hearing is possible in this case,” special judge Satyanarayan R Navander said, adjourning the case to October 8.
The Opposition MLA’s lawyer submitted before the court that no case was made out against him and that the chargesheet filed in the case was “bogus”. “The right to challenge it is reserved,” the lawyer submitted.
The ED filed its chargesheet last month naming Rohit Pawar; Baramati Agro Pvt Ltd — where he is a director; and Rajendra Ingwale, a director in Hi-Tech Engineering Corporation Pvt Ltd, who are allegedly linked to the fraudulent acquisition of a sugar mill at an undervalued price.
The chargesheet relates to the sale of Kannad Sarkari Sakhar Karkhana, which was taken over by the MSCB after it suffered losses over years. The bank’s executive committee decided through a resolution to fix the reserve price of Rs 51.06 crore for the sugar mill’s sale based on a valuation report. Shortly after the auction, the mill was revalued at Rs 75 crore, with ED alleging deliberate undervaluation.
Rohit Pawar had said that he was being targeted, insisting that due process had been followed in issuing the tender and that the sugar mill had been under the control of an administrator, not a board of directors, at the time of the auction.
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