A special court in Mumbai has allowed Maharashtra cabinet minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj, and his nephew Sameer to travel abroad for a holiday in July.
The Bhujbal family plans to visit the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and various Schengen countries.
Despite being under prosecution by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the Maharashtra Sadan scam, the Bhujbals were previously cleared of charges in the predicate offence initiated by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) by the Mumbai Sessions Court.
On May 24, the Bhujbals submitted their travel request through their lawyer, Sudarshan Khawase. They stated that they would proceed with visa applications and other travel formalities only after receiving court approval. They also requested the temporary return of their passports, which are currently held by the ED as part of their bail conditions.
Another accused in the case, Nilesh Shahu, also sought permission to travel to the same destinations in July and received approval to accompany the Bhujbals.
Despite opposition from the ED, the special court mandated that the Bhujbals provide their travel itinerary to the investigating agency before departure. The court ordered the ED to return their passports and required each Bhujbal and Shahu to deposit Rs 2 lakh as security with the court registry before leaving India.
Special Judge Rahul Rokde noted that if the Bhujbals had previously deposited any security amount for international travel and had not withdrawn it, that amount could be used for this trip.
Additionally, the court directed the Bhujbal family to provide their mobile numbers to the ED’s Mumbai office and to submit their passports to the ED upon their return to India.
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