Amid speculations of Ajit Pawar joining BJP, all eyes on ED case hearing tomorrow in MSCB case

“… further investigation is going on to identify the real beneficiaries of the company Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills Pvt Ltd. The ownership and shareholding pattern of the company has changed a number of times in due course of time…The investigation into specific roles and activities of various other persons suspected to be involved in the offence of money laundering is likely to take more time,” the ED had said in its chargesheet, keeping the scope of its investigation open to adding more persons as accused.

Since Pawar has not been named in the ED case so far as an accused, no action is expected against him in the court proceedings. Once the chargesheet is verified, the court is expected to take its cognisance and issue notices to those named accused, including Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills, allegedly linked to him. So far, no arrests have been made in the case.

The case linked to the bank has seen as many twists and turns as political changes in the state over the past few years. It relates to loans being given to sugar factories by MSCB and other cooperative banks without following procedure even after they turned into non-performing assets and their subsequent sale to kin of those linked to the bank below market value.

The ED, in its latest chargesheet, has claimed that a company named Sparkling Soil Pvt Ltd, which held majority shares of Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills, was linked to Pawar and his wife, Sunetra.

Jarandeshwar Sugar Mills was given a loan of Rs 89 crore by Pune District Central Cooperative Bank against a pledge of non-existent sugar stocks’ and mortgage of property without its independent evaluation, the ED has said. Pawar has been a member of the bank’s board of directors since 1995.

The ED’s case is linked to a case filed by the Economic Offences Wing. The EOW started a probe after receiving directions from the Bombay High Court in August 2019 based on a Public Interest Litigation filed by an individual named Surinder Arora. The charges invoked in the FIR were that of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act against over 70 persons.

In November 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance came to power, with Pawar named as the deputy chief minister. Within a year, in September 2020, the EOW said it found no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing and filed a closure report before the special court. The EOW’s report said that nothing was found to show that the banks had given loans to individual members for their personal benefit. The report also claimed that specific allegations, including that procedures were not followed while granting loans, are civil, and a criminal offence could be made out.

The ED opposed the EOW’s stand in 2020, but the special court rejected its intervention. The closure report, however, was opposed by others, including Arora, who had filed the petition in the high court.

The proceedings in the case were still pending when the government changed in the state with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the BJP alliance coming to power in June 2022. With this political change, the EOW changed its stance in October 2022 and said it wanted to continue with the probe, setting aside its closure report filed during the previous government’s rule.

The EOW probe is also continuing, and the state agency has yet to file a chargesheet in the case.

Last week, on April 12, when Pawar was asked about his reaction to not being named in the ED chargesheet, he clarified on April 12 that the ED had not given a clean chit.