Karve, who moved the high court through his counsel Sayaji Nangre, demanded CBI inquiry against Bhujbal and his family members for allegedly embezzling the trust funds and property for their personal benefit.
The high court yesterday issued a notice to Bhujbal seeking his reply on a PIL filed by a freedom fighter alleging that the minister's trust, which runs the Bhujbal Knowledge City in Nashik, charged exorbitant fees to the tune of Rs 8 crore from students since 2010.
Karve had filed a plaint on February 1 with the city police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) seeking investigation against Bhujbal, his wife Meena, son Pankaj, daughter-in-law Vishakha and nephew Sameer.
However, when EOW did not initiate any inquiry, Karve approached the high court seeking a CBI probe.
The petition states that the "possibility of bias in investigations can not be ruled out" since Bhujbal is a cabinet minister, Pankaj an MLA and Sameer an MP--all belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party--which is a ruling coalition partner in Maharashtra and controls the home ministry.
According to Karve, since 2005, Bhujbal and his family members "dishonestly" occupied the entire tenth floor of the city-based Trust building.
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The petition is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow. PTI SP NSK
HKS