Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Suraj Chavan, 45, arrested last January in a money laundering case connected to an alleged ‘khichdi scam‘ during the Covid-19 pandemic. The case is linked to an alleged financial irregularity in assigning contracts for distribution of khichdi to migrant workers by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown.
Justice Milind Jadhav, sitting singly, said Chavan was in jail for over a year and the trial is unlikely to be over in the near future. “If applicant’s detention is further continued, it would amount to infringement of his fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India of a speedy trial and guarantee of personal liberty,” he said.
The HC granted Chavan, a Chembur resident and secretary of Shiv Sena (UBT), bail on a PR bond and surety of Rs 1 lakh.
The judge added that the main allegation against Chavan was his “influential position in the state” at a time when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister. The HC said that “situation no longer prevails in the current dispensation.”
Chavan, through senior counsel Ashok Mundargi and advocate Harshad Bhadbhade, questioned his arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and said the mandated legal procedures under the Act were flouted.
Hiten Venegaonkar, the ED counsel, opposed his bail plea saying the extent of the proceeds of crime disentitles him to bail and said Chavan used “political influence'” to facilitate a contract to an ineligible company, and in the process allegedly enriched himself by Rs 1.35 crore “from M/s. Force One Multi Services”.
Later in the evening, Chavan visited Matoshree with his family, where Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray gave him an emotional welcome. Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said he was “proud of Suraj and his family”. “Today is a moment of great joy. Suraj has set a great example… of what a truly loyal Shiv Sainik should be like. Not everyone is traitors or can be bought,” Uddhav said.
— With inputs from Chaitanya Marpakwar