The Bombay High Court has quashed PMLA proceedings against D B Realty Ltd and managing director Vinodkumar Goenka in the Maharashtra Sadan-linked case. Justice Ashwin Bhobe relied on earlier discharge orders concerning the underlying transactions, including findings that they did not constitute proceeds of crime. The court set aside a 2019 special court order that had issued process and rejected their discharge applications. The ruling ends the proceedings against them unless challenged before a higher court.
Bombay High Court Quashes PMLA Case Against D B Realty and Vinodkumar Goenka in Chhagan Bhujbal-Linked Maharashtra Sadan Case
The Bombay High Court has dismissed the Enforcement Directorate’s money laundering case against D B Realty Ltd and its managing director Vinodkumar Goenka, saying that the earlier discharge orders had eaten into the base of the prosecution.
The Bombay High Court has quashed the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) case against D B Realty Ltd and its managing director Vinodkumar Goenka in proceedings related to former Maharashtra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal and the Maharashtra Sadan construction controversy. The ruling is a major development in a case that has been under legal scrutiny for years.
Justice Ashwin Bhobe, on a single-judge bench, in a judgment on July 21, quashed a 2019 order of a special court which had issued process against Goenka and D B Realty while dismissing their discharge applications. The ruling effectively ends the money laundering proceedings against the company and its managing director, unless challenged before a higher court.
Bombay High Court relies on earlier discharge orders in PMLA proceedings
Senior advocates Vikram Nankani and Aabad Ponda and advocates Parimal Shroff and Sajal Yadav appearing for Vinodkumar Goenka and D B Realty submitted that the allegations could not survive as Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd and Chhagan Bhujbal had already been discharged in the same matter.
The defence said the special trial court had earlier acquitted Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd, holding that the impugned transactions were not “proceeds of crime”. Counsel submitted that since the allegations against Goenka and D B Realty were based on the same transactions, there was no offence under the PMLA. Justice Bhobe has accepted this legal reasoning while admitting the petitions.
It was also told to the High Court that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not challenged the discharge orders given to Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd or Chhagan Bhujbal. But the court noted that activist Anjali Damania has challenged Bhujbal’s discharge before the Bombay High Court, where the matter is pending.
Maharashtra Sadan investigation began with PILs and corruption allegations
The criminal investigation was based on two separate public interest litigations (PILs) filed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya in 2012 and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2014, court records showed. The petitions alleged instances of abuse of public office and kickbacks in contracts awarded by Maharashtra's Public Works Department.
In 2015, three First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered against Chhagan Bhujbal and many others. The High Court noted that Vinodkumar Goenka and D B Realty Ltd were not accused in those FIRs. Later, PMLA proceedings were initiated by the Enforcement Directorate alleging their involvement in transactions related to the alleged proceeds of crime. The ED alleged that Goenka and D B Realty knowingly entered into a sham real estate transaction linked to funds allegedly generated through offences involving the principal accused.
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Court examines disputed real estate transaction involving Parvesh Construction
The High Court said the ED alleged that Lalit Tekchandani offered D B Realty a 50 per cent partnership in a proposed 25-acre development project involving Sameer Bhujbal, nephew of Chhagan Bhujbal.
ED said D B Realty Ltd paid Rs 5 crore to Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd as advance for purchase of land. The transaction was not genuine and was meant to conceal and channel funds, allegedly from scheduled offences, and make them appear as legitimate assets, investigators said, though the sum was later refunded.
However, Justice Bhobe observed that the allegations about Goenka and D B Realty were inextricably connected with the transactions of Parvesh Construction Pvt Ltd, the discharge order of which had already attained finality. On that basis, the High Court quashed the ED’s money laundering case against both the petitioners.
The ruling is a significant legal development in the long-standing Maharashtra Sadan controversy. Proceedings against Vinodkumar Goenka and D B Realty Ltd have been quashed, but other related litigations, including Anjali Damania’s challenge against the discharge of Chhagan Bhujbal, are pending before the Bombay High Court. Sprouts News will continue to follow and report on the pending proceedings as they unfold.
