Mumbai: Even with the prosecution strongly opposing the plea, a special court permitted National Congress Party (NCP) leader and former minister Chhagan Bhujbal, accused in a money laundering case, to travel to the UAE, Morocco, Kenya, and Qatar on a family holiday. The court directed the ED to return his passport. “The accused was a deputy chief minister, cabinet minister and is a member of the assembly for a long period of time. He is socially and politically active in society. He has deep roots in society. There is no possibility of fleeing from justice,” the judge said.
Bhujbal’s lawyer submitted that he intended to join a family trip and do sightseeing from Dec 20 to Jan 5. “They will finalise the dates and confirm the itinerary during this period, as being a member of the legislative assembly, he needs to attend the winter sessions, the dates of which may be announced any time soon. The accused undertakes to furnish a detailed itinerary before leaving India to the office of the Directorate of Enforcement. Earlier, the accused was granted permission to travel abroad. There are no allegations that he ever breached any of the orders of the court,” the lawyer submitted.
Opposing the plea, the prosecution submitted that the accused is likely to abscond and delay the trial.
