The Bombay High Court today refused to grant interim bail to former MP Sameer Bhujbal in a case of money laundering in which his uncle and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal too is an accused.
Sameer Bhujbal, Chhagan Bhujbal and 51 others were charged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in 2016 for various offences including the Maharashtra Sadan scam.
Another judge of the high court had given bail to Chhagan Bhujbal, a former deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, on May 4.
Justice Bharati Dangre, who is presiding over a vacation bench, refused to grant interim relief to Sameer Bhujbal, whose bail plea is pending, late this evening.
His lawyer Vikram Chaudhary argued that of the 53 accused, only Sameer was now in jail. He also cited the bail order in Chhagan Bhujbal's case to buttress the case.
The ED sought time to respond to Sameer's bail plea. His lawyer requested that he be released on interim bail till then, but the court refused, scheduling the next hearing for May 15.
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Chhagan Bhujbal and Sameer Bhujbal were arrested in 2016.
According to investigators, Chhagan Bhujbal, who was the Public Works Department Minister in the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra, misused his official position to favour a certain firm while awarding contracts, including the one for the construction of new Maharashtra Sadan (state guest house) in New Delhi.
The Bhujbals received kickbacks and this money was laundered through shell companies, the ED alleged.